


Promises

by ArtemisLiCa



Category: Harry Potter - Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2010-10-05
Updated: 2015-06-28
Packaged: 2017-10-12 10:57:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 23,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/124147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArtemisLiCa/pseuds/ArtemisLiCa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Near the end of his sixth year, Harry gets a surprise of a magnitude that only he ever seems capable of: he fathered a child...with a woman he most certainly never slept with! With the war raging, it's a dangerous time for Harry to start a family, but Harry's new family becomes Harry's number one reason to end the war once and for all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The First Promise

**Author's Note:**

> Clarification/Addition of Warnings:  
>  _Character Death_ -I did not mark this on the story summary page because I did not know whether to consider the person who dies a Major or Minor character. I will say this: neither Harry nor Draco die. This warning refers to a non-violent death that is made clear from this very first chapter.  
>  _OOC_ -Depending on your view of Pansy in cannon, you may consider her OOC.  
> Also, ages have been adjusted to suit my purposes.  
> (Despite the angst, a happy ending is promised!)

            Harry took the chance to catch his breath. He was in a room somewhere in the dungeons at Hogwarts training with Professor Snape. Harry was approaching the end of his sixth year at Hogwarts and he knew he wasn’t the only one feeling like time was running out.

            He suddenly threw himself to the side as yet another curse came in his direction.

            “Do you honestly think the Dark Lord will stop to give you a chance to catch your breath, Potter?” Snape drawled mockingly.

            Harry rolled his eyes. Since beginning these training sessions with Snape in his fifth year, they had managed to form a truce of sorts. Of course, they only managed this after some of the worse fights they had ever had. The one that occur after Harry had looked at Snape’s memories in the pensieve was particularly spectacular. It was also the reason behind their current truce.

            After seeing Snape’s memories, in their next Occlumency lesson Harry let Snape see some of his worst memories of Dudley and other…unpleasant memories from living at Privet Drive. Anything less and Harry knew the man would only have sneered at his apology. Afterwards Snape looked at him for a long time without saying anything. In the end, they never did say anything explicit about the truce that formed between them.

            Of course, now that there was no real malice behind their sniping at one another they found they both went further in their…teasing. To outsiders, it looked like things had suddenly gotten much, much worse between them after the lesson in which Harry saw Snape’s memories. At one point, even Dumbledore had sat them down to talk about their interactions with each other. Snape had been surprised when he noticed Harry was just as amused as he was by the lecture they received.

            Harry continued to dodge hexes and curses and tried to use his wand to perform spells of his own. Suddenly, the training halted as Fawkes, the Headmaster’s phoenix, appeared. The bird dropped a note into Snape’s hand and then disappeared as quickly as he had appeared.

            Snape frowned at the note in his hand. “It seems the Headmaster wants us to come to the infirmary.”

            Harry snorted. “Great. One of the few rare moments where I’m uninjured and I get to spend it in the infirmary anyway.”

            Snape ignored Harry and led the way to the infirmary. It did not escape Harry’s notice that he took a route that insured they would remain unseen.

********************************

            When they arrived in the infirmary, they were directed to a private room. Harry frowned at the looks Madam Pomfrey was sending him. The medi-witch was acting extremely strange. Harry had spent enough time in the infirmary with her to know.

            “Ah, Harry, Severus,” Dumbledore greeted them. “Severus, if you could close and ward the door behind you?”

            Severus raised an eyebrow and did as the Headmaster asked.

            “Thank you,” Dumbledore said. He then used his wand and removed the Disillusionment charm on the bed.

            Harry gaped as Pansy Parkinson was revealed. She looked awful. She was sweaty and obviously exhausted. She was also…holding a baby.

            “Uh,” Harry said.

            Snape scowled. “What is going on here?”

            “It seems, Severus, that Miss Parkinson has managed to hide the fact that she is-was pregnant,” Dumbledore said.

            Harry stared at the old man. While he could understand why Snape, as her Head of House, would need to know this he had no idea what he was doing there. Surely the poor girl deserved better than to have a guy she hates see her like that.

            Obviously Snape had been having similar thoughts. “And why is Potter here? I would think this is a matter that would be best handled privately for the time being.”

            “I agree,” Dumbledore said, nodding. “Tell me, Harry. Do you know why you are here?”

            Harry shook his head, mystified.

            “Albus-” Snape began.

            “You were right, Severus,” Dumbledore cut in. “This should be considered a private matter as of yet. However, I thought the child’s father deserved to know-”

            “What?!” Snape and Harry yelled in unison.

            Harry looked at the bed guiltily as Parkinson flinched and the baby gave a small cry.

            “What do you mean, Albus?” Snape asked darkly.

            “Miss Parkinson was at first extremely reluctant to tell us the name of the child’s father. However, when she learned…certain facts she named Harry Potter as the child’s father,” Dumbledore said.

            Snape turned to Harry.

            Harry didn’t even notice. He looked between Parkinson and the Headmaster. “What? That’s not possible!”

            “Well, Potter. Have you had so many affairs that you have trouble remembering them all?” Snape drawled.

            Harry rolled his eyes. “First of all, I’m seventeen. Any time I had sex would have been memorable for the simple fact that is was happening at all. Second, I definitely would have remembered if I had been with Parkinson. Not only does she hate me, but I happen to be gay.”

            “Well, as I told Miss Parkinson,” Dumbledore said solemnly, “there is one simple way to tell. If you don’t mind, Harry?” He motioned for Harry to stand beside the bed.

            Harry walked over and stood where is was told. He looked over at Parkinson and noticed she refused to look at him. He turned back to the Headmaster and the Potions professor.

            The Headmaster raised his wand and performed a short spell. As he did, a blue light appeared and connected Parkinson with the baby in her arms. A red light appeared and connected Harry to the baby, which was now surrounded by a light purple aura.

            “Obviously you were not quite as gay as you thought,” Snape said.

            “How is that even possible? I know I’ve never had sex with her!” Harry said, seriously confused.

            “That would be more believable if you had not gotten her pregnant, Potter,” Snape said.

            “Um, he’s telling the truth, Professor,” Parkinson said in a small voice. “The baby is his, but, ah, we never…we never had sex.”

            All three men stared at her blankly.

            “There was a sp-spell.” Pansy blinked rapidly, obviously trying not to cry.

            “Ah,” Dumbledore said. “Perhaps you could explain, Miss Parkinson?”

            “In my father’s library, there are many books on Dark Arts. Books with dark spells in them. I was-I was looking for…something else and I found this book. I just…looked through it and found the spell. And I…I decided to, um, use it.” She stopped a moment and just stared down at the baby in her arms. “I had to sneak into the Gryffindor dorms and…use a certain spell on Potter’s bed to…well. Well, I mean…” She blushed. “Well, everyone knows boys, uh, masturbate. The spell just…um, borrowed what would only be banished by a cleaning charm anyway and then…” She stopped and held the baby up a bit.

            While all Harry could think was _ewww_ , the Headmaster and Snape obviously saw something to worry about.

            “Miss Parkinson,” Dumbledore said urgently, “where is the book with this spell? Does anyone else know of it?”

            “It’s hidden in my room at my house. No one else knows about it. It was covered in dust and I don’t think it had been opened for years, probably decades, before I opened it,” Parkinson said.

            “Severus, you need to go to the Parkinson’s house and get that book. I also need you to start looking into a way to prevent something like this from happening again,” Dumbledore said.  
            Snape nodded and left quickly. Dumbledore warded the door after the Potions Master had left.

            Harry turned to Parkinson. “Why me?” he asked in complete bewilderment.

            Parkinson ( _Pansy, should probably learn to call her Pansy now that…well, now that we have a baby together_ , Harry thought, semi-hysterically) looked down at the baby in her arms.

            “I just…you’re a really powerful wizard, you know? Everyone at school knows that you and Draco are the most powerful wizards in the school,” Pansy said.

            “Well, why didn’t you choose Malfoy?” Harry asked, still confused.

            “You’ve met the Dark Lord and survived each time. Whether that was luck or power or whatever…I wanted my baby to have it. I-I knew my baby wouldn’t be safe in a world run by the Dark Lord. I never wanted anything to do with him.”

            “But by choosing me, you made yourself a target. Did you even consider that?” Harry asked. “Why would you even want to have a baby right now anyway? Especially with the war going on.”

            Pansy started to cry softly. “I know. But…I just…I wanted a family. Someone who would love me,” she said softly. “My parents…they treat me like a possession, a commodity. I didn’t have the decency to be a boy so the only way I can be useful to them is by marrying into a pureblood wizard family with money and status…money and status that they would get a part of by marrying me off.”

            Harry looked at the crying girl and thought of his own family, of living at Privet Drive. He knew exactly what she meant about wanting a family, about wanting to be loved. How many times had he fantasized about getting older and marrying and finally having a loving family of his own? It was why he tried so hard to be straight; why he told himself it was Cho he had a crush on, not Cedric; why he tried really hard to tell himself he loved Ginny as a boyfriend and not as a brother would.

            Harry sat down on the bed next to Pansy and put an arm around her shoulders. “I know just what you mean,” he whispered. “I was raised by muggle relatives who hate magic.”

            She looked at him, startled. After searching his face for any sign that he was lying, she suddenly turned her head and pressed her face against his shoulder and started sobbing. Harry just held her and let her cry.

            After a bit, she finally started to calm down. When she lifted her head, Harry gently moved a hand over the baby’s hair. “So, did we have a boy or a girl?” he asked with a slight smile.

            Tears fell from Pansy’s eyes, but she managed to keep from sobbing again. “It’s-we-we have a little girl,” she said giving Harry her own attempt at a smile.

            “Have you given her a name yet?” Harry asked softly.

            Pansy shook her head. “I couldn’t go to a doctor or my parents would find out so I didn’t know if I was having a boy or a girl.”

            “How about a flower name? Your name and my mum’s name are both names of flowers,” Harry said.

            “What about ‘Violet?’ And we can call her ‘Vi.’ You know, like boys will _vie_ for her attention?” Pansy asked and then blushed as she realized what she had said.

            Harry smiled at Pansy. “Violet. Hello, little Vi,” Harry said, leaning closer to look at the baby.

            “Violet Delphine Potter,” Pansy said decisively.

            “Potter?” Harry asked. “You don’t want both our-?”

            “No,” Pansy said. “I don’t want my baby to share a name with my parents.”

            Harry saw the hard look in her eyes and gave her a little squeeze. “Violet Delphine Potter,” he agreed.

            Both had forgotten that the Headmaster was still in the room. They never noticed how he watched them with sad eyes and a sorrowful smile. They jumped at the sound of his voice. “Miss Parkinson, I believe you may want to tell him the rest,” Dumbledore said softly.

            Pansy nodded.

            Harry frowned. “What does that mean? What more is there?”

            Pansy took a deep breath. “I had never intended for you to know about-about Violet. I had thought you would hate me for it and try to take her from me. That’s why I refused to tell the Headmaster and Madam Pomfrey who was the father at first. But when Madam Pomfrey checked me over after I delivered Vi…she found something.”

            “Something? Something like what?” Harry asked with sudden dread.

            “The last time I went home I made it clear to my parents I didn’t want to join the Dark Lord or marry Draco.” She looked at Harry. “Draco and I were only ever friends, but our parents set up a marriage between us.”

            Harry nodded. The entire school knew about the arranged marriage between the two.

            Pansy continued. “Well, apparently my parents decided if I wasn’t not going to be a good little piece of property,” she said bitterly, “then I was of no use to them.”

            “What did Madam Pomfrey find?” Harry whispered.

            Pansy closed her eyes. “My parents cursed me. It is a subtle curse. I-I only have a few months left. I was lucky. Because of the way the curse works it didn’t affect Vi. But it’s gone too far. There’s nothing anyone can do now. I-” Pansy took another deep breath. “I only have a few months left. I might just barely make it to the beginning of summer break.”

            “Oh, Pansy,” Harry said sadly. What more could he say?

            “Promise me, Po-Harry. Promise me, Harry,” Pansy said, turning to him. “Promise me you’ll take care of Vi. Promise me you’ll keep her safe and love her. You have to kill that bastard and you have to survive this stupid war so you can take care of our daughter.”

            Harry blinked rapidly, trying not to cry himself. “I promise, Pansy.”

            She nodded and then looked down at their baby. “You are probably the only person I would trust to keep that promise, Harry.”

            They were silent for a long time. They just looked at their baby girl and tried not to think about all of the problems they were facing.

            “I can’t say I’m sorry, Harry,” Pansy finally said.

            Harry looked down at Violet, at _his_ baby. “I can’t say I’m sorry either, Pansy. I could never regret her,” he said softly, stroking a finger down Violet’s cheek.

            Another few minutes passed in silence.

            “Are you sure, Pansy? That there’s nothing that can be done?” Harry asked quietly.

            It was the Headmaster who answered. “No, Harry, I’m afraid not. I am familiar with this spell from the first war with Voldemort.”

            “I just…wish there was something I could do,” Harry said, still speaking quietly.

            “The only thing I really want now is to be free of my parents. I guess I’ll get that wish in a few months, though,” Pansy said.

            “But you’re seventeen, right?” Harry asked in confusion. “I thought wizards and witches were considered adults at seventeen.”

            “Yeah, but my parents have this guardianship thing. A lot of old wizard families use it for daughters. I’m under their ‘protection’ until I turn twenty-three or until I marry. It had to do with muggles hunting witches or something centuries ago,” Pansy said.

            Harry thought a moment. “Well…will you marry me, then?”

            Pansy looked at him in shock. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, but no sound came out. Finally she said, “What?”

            “Pansy, you gave me a daughter. And, like you, I know just how precious a gift that is,” Harry said, stroking his daughter’s cheek again. “We may have had our differences in the past, but…if the only thing I can do for you is to help free you from your parents, I’m going to do it.”

            “But-but,” Pansy said.

            Harry frowned. “Are you seeing someone? I just assumed you weren’t.”

            “Ah, no. But…but what about your friends?” Pansy asked, stunned.

            “Pansy. We have a daughter together. And I think it would be a really bad idea for people to find out about the spell you used, especially if the Headmaster and Snape are so worried about it. That means we are going to have to let a lot of people think we were together at some point-at the very least as lovers,” Harry said.

            “You’re serious? You would marry me? And what about you? Are you seeing anyone?” Pansy asked.

            “No, I’m not seeing anyone. And yes, I am very serious. I’m sure between the Headmaster and Snape and us we can do it quietly,” Harry replied.

            “What about the Dark Lord?” Pansy asked quietly.

            “We won’t be able to hide Violet forever, especially if we are going to give her my last name,” Harry said.

            “You would really marry me?” Pansy asked.

            Harry looked at her a moment and then turned to the Headmaster. “Headmaster? Can I have a lemon drop?”

            “Ah, of course, my boy,” Dumbledore said, startled to suddenly be included in the conversation.

            Harry moved his arm from around Pansy’s shoulders and held the lemon drop in one hand and pointed his wand at it with the other. The Headmaster and Pansy watched as the lemon drop changed into a gold ring, the clear wrapper becoming a brilliant diamond. Harry put his wand away and then grabbed Pansy’s left hand, grateful she was holding Violet with the other arm.

            Holding the ring at the tip of her ring finger, Harry asked, “Pansy, will you marry me?”

            Pansy looked at the ring curiously. “Yes, Harry. I’ll marry you.”

            Harry smiled and pushed the ring into place. It fit perfectly.

            “Harry? What’s with the ring?” Pansy asked, looking at the way it sparkled on her finger. It was beautiful, but her family had money and she was used to expensive jewelry. “I mean, it’s beautiful, but…” She frowned in confusion.

            Harry gave a little laugh. “Sorry. It didn’t occur to me that wizards probably have different customs. In muggle society, when a man asks a woman to marry him he gives her a diamond ring. It’s her engagement ring. When they get married, during the ceremony they put gold bands on each other’s left ring finger to symbolize their marriage. How does it work in the wizarding world?”

            “Oh,” Pansy looked at her ring with new appreciation. Using a muggle symbol meant that their classmates wouldn’t find out about them. At least right away. Someone was bound to eventually find out. “Well, when a witch gets engaged she wears her hair up. She uses the clip the wizard gives her when he proposed or the engagement contract was signed. The clip has a symbol of the wizard’s family on it, announcing to everyone not only that the witch is engaged, but also who she is going to be marrying.

            “When they get married, their magic combines to mark the connection and the woman transitions into the wizard’s family. That means that all family wards and such will recognize her. The physical representation of the marriage could be anything really, but it almost always has the family crest on it in some way,” Pansy finished.

            “Oh,” Harry blinked. “Well, it would probably be better if we keep the marriage and Violet a secret as long as possible. I hope you don’t mind using muggle customs,” Harry said apologetically.

            Pansy smiled. “I don’t mind.” She looked back down at Violet, but her eyes kept straying to her ring. She sniffled and Harry put his arm around her shoulders again.

            Just then, they heard a loud commotion outside the room. Dumbledore frowned and removed the wards to look out. As soon as the wards fell, they heard Madam Pomfrey say, “You can’t go in there!“ and then several people spilled into the room.

            Madam Pomfrey nearly fell into the room as Ron, Hermione and Draco Malfoy pushed past her.

            Malfoy had his wand out and he asked coldly, “What the hell have you done to Pansy, Potter?!”

            The three other students stopped and stared in shock as they finally saw the scene in the room. Pansy was sitting on the bed, holding a baby, with Harry Potter sitting next to her with his arm around her shoulders.

            “What the bloody hell?!” Ron asked as his jaw dropped.


	2. The Second Promise

            Dumbledore nodded to let Madam Pomfrey know it was okay. When she left, he shut the door behind the three stunned students and replaced the wards.

            “Pansy, what the hell is going on?” Draco asked.

            Harry couldn’t help but notice that bewildered was a cute look for him. He nearly fell off the bed in shock when he caught himself thinking that. _The shock. It’s just the shock getting to me._

            Pansy didn’t answer. She looked down at her daughter and lifted her free hand to push her hair behind her ear.

            Hermione gasped. “Oh my god! Pansy, did Harry give you that ring?!”

            The two pureblood boys looked at her in confusion.

            “Yes, Granger. Of everything that’s wrong with this picture, worry about Pansy’s jewelry,” Draco sneered.

            Hermione ignored him as she watched Harry blush.

            Pansy sat up straight and held her head up proudly. “Yes, Granger, he did.” She held out her hand and smiled. “Isn’t it beautiful?”

            “Oh my god!” Hermione said again. She just looked at Harry, stunned.

            “Hermione, what’s the big deal about the ring?” Ron asked in confusion.

            Hermione looked at the two pureblood boys. “That’s an _engagement_ ring!”

            “Engagement?!” Draco said looking at Pansy as if she had lost her mind.

            “As in, they have plans to get married?” Ron asked, horrified.

            “Pansy, what the hell are you thinking?” Draco asked her.

            “I thought my baby deserved to be with her father,” Pansy said, drawing everyone’s attention to the bundle in her arms.

            “Pansy, you know damn well you could have come to me! And how did you even end up having _Potter’s_ baby anyway?” Draco asked.

            “My parents used the Fading curse on me, Draco,” Pansy said quietly.

            Harry didn’t know what that meant, but he already knew the effects of the spell so it didn’t matter. The other three gasped, apparently having heard of the spell before.

            Draco paled. “Pansy?”

            “My parents didn’t even know I was pregnant at the time, but fortunately the way the spell works kept it from harming my baby,” Pansy said.

            “How long, Pans?” Draco asked, obviously in pain.

            “Until summer break maybe,” she said.

            “You still could have come to me,” Draco whispered.

            “Yes, but can you blame me for thinking my daughter would be safer with Harry?” Pansy asked.

            “Daughter?” Draco asked.

            Pansy held up the bundle in her arms. “My daughter, Draco. This is Violet Delphine Potter. We call her ‘Vi.’ Vi, this is your Uncle Draco.”

            Draco moved forward until he was standing next to the bed next to Pansy. He leaned closer and looked at the baby. After swallowing a few times, he said, “Hey, little Vi.”

            The Gryffindors were surprised to be allowed to see Draco Malfoy so vulnerable, but they supposed news that your best friend since childhood was dying would be hard on anyone. Ron and Hermione walked over and stood next to Harry.

            Suddenly, Pansy reached out and grabbed Draco’s arm. “Draco. Draco, I want you to do something for me.”

            “Anything, Pans.” Draco placed his hand over the one Pansy had on his arm.

            “Don’t take the mark.”

            Draco jerked. “What?”

            “You know I never wanted to support that madman. Can you really give your loyalty to a man who would murder my baby?”

            Draco turned a little green. “Pansy-”

            “Promise me, Draco. I want you to promise me you won’t take the dark mark.”

            Draco looked at her, a look of agony on his face. For a long moment, he just looked at her. And then he dropped his eyes to the little bundle in her arms.

            “He’s going to lose, Draco. Harry is going to defeat him. He’s done it before.”

            “Pansy-” Draco said, torn.

            “When it’s all over, I want you to be there, Draco. I want you to be there for my daughter,” Pansy said.

            Draco looked at his best friend and then back at her baby.

            “Promise me, Draco,” Pansy said firmly.

            Draco sighed in defeat. “I promise, Pans.”

            Harry saw the look of fear and misery that flashed across the blond’s face. “You know,” Harry said, “you’re always welcome on our side.”

            Draco sneered at him. “I’m ‘welcome,’ Potter?”

            Harry rolled his eyes. “Fine. Let me translate it into Slytherin terms. You, and your parents if you can convince them, will be reluctantly accepted by our side because you can be useful.”

            “Ah, Harry,” Dumbledore said, alarmed.

            Harry just glared at him and continued. “You Malfoys would make great allies. There will be plenty of distrust and suspicion and insults when you join us, but as Slytherins you would already know that. And really, how’s that all that different from being Death Eaters? In return, you would have far less chance of being killed off by your own allies and, when the war is over, you will not only be allowed to continue life as usual, but you will be seen as heroes. Because, make no mistake, I will be winning this war,” Harry finished grimly, tightening his arm around Pansy’s shoulders.

            “And, when you refuse to take the dark mark you will have someone to go to,” Pansy said, giving Draco a hard look that said she fully expected him to keep his promise.

            Draco glared at both of them. Finally, scowling, he said, “Fine. I’ll talk to my parents.”

            “And if they don’t agree?” Pansy asked quietly.

            Draco stared down at Vi for a long moment without speaking. “Then I’ll sneak out and switch sides,” he said equally quiet.

************************************

            Harry was halfheartedly casting spells at the targets in the room where he and Snape trained when the Potions Master found him. Harry and the others had been kicked out of the infirmary after promising to tell no one about Pansy or Violet so that the two could rest.

            Harry heard the older man come in and he went and sat down on the sofa set to one side of the room. He and Snape sometimes talked before or after their training sessions and the area had been set up with protections around it so it wasn’t damaged during training.

            Snape sat down across from Harry as usual. He looked at the younger man and lifted an eyebrow. “I would never have expected you to accept this situation so easily, Potter. Certainly, I never expected to return to have the Headmaster ask me to help plan a wedding between you and Miss Parkinson.”

            Harry shrugged. “Shock helped eased the way a great deal.”

            “And now that the shock has worn off?”

            Harry was quiet for a while. Then he shrugged again and pointed across the room.

            Snape turned and both his brows lifted as he caught sight of the damaged and the decimated targets at the far end of the room. He turned back to Harry.

            Harry shrugged again. “I freaked out a little bit. I’m certainly never going to be able to sleep again without performing a full check of my bedroom and my bed.” Harry shuddered in disgust. “I was pretty angry for a while as you can see, but then I thought about it and I can’t really think of anything worse than slowly dying and knowing it was your parents who were the ones who killed you.”

            Snape was silent for a moment and then asked, “And the wedding? Have you changed your mind about that then?”

            Harry quickly shook his head. “No,” he said firmly.

            Snape lifted an eyebrow at him again.

            Harry picked at the tear in the left knee of his jeans. When he spoke, his voice was so low that the Potions Master had to strain to hear it. “It might be selfish and maybe a little cold, but if I marry Pansy she can’t take Vi away from me and when she’s gone her parents won’t be able to take Vi either.”

            Harry shifted on the sofa and kept his head down as he continued. “When I was about eight or nine, there was a family that lived on Privet Drive. They had a teenaged daughter and she got pregnant. It was all Aunt Petunia could talk about for months.

            “Apparently, her family _hated_ her boyfriend. They did everything they could to keep the two of them apart. When they found out that she was pregnant, they sent her away and refused to tell her boyfriend where she was. The last I heard before they moved away was that they had sent her away to some school and the child’s father never found his baby.

            “I couldn’t handle something like that,” Harry said, swallowing loudly. “I think it goes without saying that Pansy’s family hates me and they wouldn’t hesitate to try to take Violet away. Pansy made it clear that her family only saw her as valuable for what she could get for them. I can’t imagine they would hesitate to give Vi to Voldemort.

            “I’m willing to do whatever it takes to keep my daughter safe, even if that means letting people think Pansy and I were secretly lovers and even if it means marrying someone I don’t love. And, again this will probably sound cold, but it’s only going to last for a few months.”

             Snape stared at the young Gryffindor for a long time. Finally he sat back and said, “You are only sixteen. I doubt Pansy will live long enough for you to turn seventeen. The only way you could do this is if your guardians signed the appropriate forms. And then there is the issue that once you are married you will automatically be considered of age and the blood protections on Privet Drive will no longer work.”

            Harry shrugged again. “Just tell my aunt that by signing the papers I never have to come back to her house and you won’t even have to tell her what she is signing. And the protections would have only worked for part of the summer anyway so it’s not like I didn’t already have to start thinking of where to go when the wards stopped working. I don’t see the problem.”

            Snape frowned at him, but changed the subject. “The Headmaster also told me you extended an invitation to the Malfoys to join the Order. He felt it was somewhat…unfair of you when you have no authority to do so.”

            Harry glared. “As I said, I will do whatever it takes to take care of my daughter. Draco, as Pansy’s best friend, has every right to expect to be a part of Violet’s life. If the Headmaster has a problem with my offer, you can tell him that I offered the Malfoys’ a chance to join _me_ and if he has a problem with my allies he’s going to find me less than cooperative with his future plans.”

            Snape’s brows lifted at Harry’s little speech. “You almost sound like a Slytherin, Potter.”

            Harry snorted in amusement. “It was the Sorting Hat’s first choice for me.” Harry grinned at the brief bug-eyed expression of shock that crossed the Potions Master’s face before he put his mask back into place.

            Snape narrowed his eyes at Harry and frowned. “You are lying.”

            Harry shook his head. “Nope. However, I had heard that only dark wizard’s were in Slytherin and asked the Hat to put me into any other House and I ended up in Gryffindor. Can you imagine what would have happened if I had been sorted into Slytherin?” Harry asked with a small smile.

            Snape shook his head at the thought.

            Harry sobered. “I know you have a lot going on right now, but is there anyway you could help Draco convince his parents to change sides? I know you are friends with Draco’s father.”

            Snape smirked. “I take it that the Headmaster has led you to believe that I have only been spying since your mother’s death?”

            Harry’s brows rose. “You’re saying that’s not the case?”

            Snape shook his head. “I only joined the Dark Lord to provide information about his plans. However, what even Albus doesn’t know…” Snape trailed off and gave Harry a significant look.

            Harry rolled his eyes. “I have plenty of experience in not telling the Headmaster things. Whatever you tell me, he won’t learn from me.”

            Snape snorted. That was true enough. The boy had had too many ‘adventures’ in his time at Hogwarts and the Headmaster had not known of any of them beforehand. “Well, what even Albus doesn’t know is that there is no way I could have gotten all of the information I have given him over the years on my own, certainly not without being caught.”

            Harry blinked. “You mean that Lucius Malfoy is already on our side? That he’s been helping you all of these years?” Harry rolled his eyes when he saw that Snape seemed surprised that he had caught on so quickly. “It wasn’t that hard to figure out when we were talking about him before you went off on this tangent.”

            Snape surprised Harry by rolling his eyes in return. “Indeed.”

            “Well,” Harry said, “I guess that means it should be a little easier to convince them to join our side.”

            “Actually,” Snape said, “it is probably what you said just now that will convince Lucius.”

            Harry frowned. “What I said?”

            Snape inclined his head. “Unless you were just talking when you said you would go against the Headmaster himself if the need arose?”

            Harry shook his head. “No. I’ll do it if it comes down to that. Nothing is more important to me than family.” Harry frowned. “And my muggle relatives don’t count.” He shook his head. “What does that have to do with convincing Lucius Malfoy to join our side, though?”

            “Lucius never cared for the idea of joining Albus. Despite what you may think of him…“ Snape hesitated a moment, “despite what you may think of him, Albus can be somewhat prejudice in certain matters,” Snape said, obviously choosing his words with care.

            “How so? I mean, he let Remus attend school here and even gave him a job and most of the wizarding world is prejudice against werewolves,” Harry said.

            Snape shook his head. “That’s because Lupin is from a line of pureblood wizards that have never had even the suggestion of Dark Arts about them. Albus’ prejudices have more to do with a family’s history of using Dark Arts. Lucius was under suspicion from Albus from his first day here because his grandfather was known to spout that pureblood nonsense the Dark Lord is famous for and the man was suspected of delving deeply into the Dark Arts though he was never convicted.”

            Harry nodded. “You know, I’ve always wondered about that. I mean, I’ve always known you two were friends and I always wondered why, if he was such a fanatic about blood purity, he would be friends with you.

            “Not to mention you are obviously a powerful wizard. Most people might not notice because of the emphasis on how intelligent you are, but it’s pretty obvious. I mean, you’d have to be to keep up with both Voldemort and Dumbledore.” Harry frowned. “And how can people believe all that pureblood equals better nonsense when two, if you count you as well as Voldemort, of the three most powerful wizards of our time are halfbloods?” Harry noticed Snape was staring at him. “What?”

            “I have a difficult time believing that, given our history, you would suggest that I am not only quite intelligent, but also extremely powerful, much less that you would suggest I am somehow either Albus’ or the Dark Lord’s equal,” Snape said.

            A thoughtful look came to Harry’s face. “Actually, you’re probably more powerful. They are decades older than you and have had much, much more time to study various aspects of magic. Not to mention they never spent the time on Potions that you have…” Harry trailed off.

            Snape stared at the younger man for a moment and then shook his head. “Obviously the shock you have been through has affected you more than I had thought,” Snape muttered.


	3. The Third Promise

            Harry wearily walked up the stairs to Gryffindor Tower. He was feeling emotionally drained after the shock of finding out about Violet and then dealing with the anger and disgust he felt over what Pansy had done.

            Harry reached the portrait guarding the entrance to the Gryffindor common room and he gave the password. He walked through the common room and headed straight for the stairs to his dorm room, ignoring the greetings of his housemates.

            He was so tired. He just wanted to sleep. Only, when he walked into his dorm room and approached his bed, he suddenly remembered. He stared at his bed, feeling the disgust and rage building up. His face felt hot and his breathing sped up as his rage grew.

            Harry pulled out his wand and set his bed on fire. There was no way he was ever going to sleep in that bed again. He stood there and watched it burn, feeling a fierce satisfaction as the flames spread. The heat and smoke drove him back a few steps and he started to cough on the smoke.

            “Harry!” Neville rushed into the room. He managed to cast _aguamenti_ and put the fire out. “Harry, are you okay?”

            “Yeah, I’m fine,” Harry rasped. His throat was a little scratchy and his eyes were watering, but he was fine.

            Neville rushed to open the windows. He had just opened the last one when the other boys came into the room.

            “What the hell!” Ron shouted.

            Soon the room was in chaos. Someone rushed off to get McGonagall and Harry sighed as he heard the voices in the common room chatting excitedly. His housemates were probably going to spend half the night talking about this.

            Harry went to the bathroom and washed his face and used his hands to drink some water from the sink. He was feeling much better by the time he heard McGonagall’s voice. Sighing again, he left the bathroom.

            As he had expected, Harry was quickly ushered off to the Headmaster’s office.

            Dumbledore looked up at them in surprise when they entered his office without knocking.

            “Minerva, Harry. What a surprise. What can I do for you?” Dumbledore asked.

            While McGonagall explained the situation, sounding extremely upset, Harry stood behind her and tried to explain to the Headmaster through hand gestures what had happened.

            Professor McGonagall might be Harry’s Head of House, but she did not yet know about Violet and Harry wasn’t about to tell her. The Headmaster could deal with that situation when the time came.

            “I really don’t know what to do, Albus,” McGonagall said. “I don’t like to think that Harry is not safe in Gryffindor Tower, but this attack was far too close for comfort.”

            “Well, Minerva. I fear the only solution is to give Harry a private room. He will have to keep the location a secret, obviously,” Dumbledore said, “but I shouldn’t think that will be a problem for him.”

            McGonagall frowned. “But Albus, you know other students will be upset. The Slytherins especially will argue that you are showing him special treatment.”

            “Actually, Minerva, I had already been planning on provided one of the Slytherin students with a private room.” Dumbledore held up a hand when she started to protest in outrage. “The student is quite ill, Minerva.”

            The witch subsided. She could tell from the grave tone the man had used that the illness was not temporary or curable. “Oh, dear.”

            Dumbledore nodded. “I will get Harry settled in tonight. Why don’t you return to Gryffindor Tower and calm the students?”

            Harry and Dumbledore watched as she left and then turned to each other.

            “Well, my boy,” Dumbledore said, popping a lemon drop into his mouth. “It seems you have saved me the trouble of coming up with an excuse for you to be given your own room.”

            Harry winced. “Sorry,” he muttered.

            Dumbledore waved a hand. “I believe your reaction was quite understandable given the circumstance. Now, as for your room I had thought it would be best to give you and Miss Parkinson a suite together. You would each have your own bedroom and bathroom, but there would be a shared living room and kitchen.”

            Harry nodded. “We will be keeping Violet with us,” Harry said firmly. His stomach churned as he waited for the Headmaster’s reply.

            Dumbledore nodded. “Of course,” he said solemnly. “I had been trying to think of what to do while the two of you are in class. The fewer people that know about this the better. Obviously, other students or any of the professors are not an option as they would be missed. Madam Pomfrey needs to be available to the students, so she would also not be available.”

            “What about Remus? I heard that you were going to ask him back as the DADA professor next year. Are there any suites with three bedrooms? It’s only a few months until the end of term. I’m sure he could stay with us and not be noticed during that time,” Harry said.

            Dumbledore’s bushy white brows rose. “Remus? I must admit I had thought you would want Molly’s help. I had been in the middle of writing the letter asking her-”

            Harry glared. “Headmaster, I appreciate that you are trying to help and I know this may seem ungrateful, but…I would appreciate it if you didn’t make any choices concerning Violet. Any choices that need to be made that affect Vi will be made by me and Pansy.”

            The Headmaster appeared startled. “Well, certainly, my boy. I had simply thought that Molly would have been the one you wished to watch the child.”

            “Mrs. Weasley is a wonderful woman and she does have a lot of experience with children,” Harry said carefully, “but I don’t think Pansy would be very comfortable with her watching Vi. Pansy has met Remus when he taught here before and while the Slytherins gave him a hard time, they did acknowledge that he was a fair professor.”

            “Well,” Dumbledore said. “I believe I do have a suite available that will meet your needs. I will just write-”

            “Actually, if you don’t mind, I would like to write the letter to Remus,” Harry said. “If you could make sure he gets it quickly?”

            Dumbledore nodded. “Very well, Harry.” He frowned when he saw Harry yawn. “Why don’t you let me have Fawkes take you to your room? I will have the elves deliver your things by morning. Miss Parkinson and her child will be staying in the infirmary for the next week and then they will join you in the suite. By that time, I believe that Remus should be here.”

            Harry nodded. “Thank you, Headmaster.”

***********************************

            The next day was Saturday. After breakfast, Harry went to the infirmary to see Pansy and Violet. Pansy was still in the private room and Madam Pomfrey quickly ushered him into the room before leaving to give them privacy.

            Pansy was sitting up in bed holding Vi. There was an empty bassinet set next to the window. Pansy looked up and gave Harry a sad smile. “I know she’d probably sleep better in her bed, but I want to spend as much time with her as I can before…”

            Harry nodded when Pansy trailed off and walked over and sat beside her on the bed, much as he had the night before.

            They were both just sitting there on the bed watching their daughter sleep when the door opened and the three unexpected guests from the night before made a reappearance.

            Draco just walked over to the side of the bed opposite Harry and leaned against the headboard and looked down at Vi. Ron and Hermione were a bit louder in their entrance.

            “There you are, Harry!” Hermione said. “You never came back last night! I was so worried about you!”

            “What happened, mate?” Ron asked.

            Harry glared at them when Vi stirred. “Shhh!”

            Hermione gave Harry an apologetic look and Ron looked sheepish. They both walked over to Harry’s side of the bed and looked at Violet too.

            After a few minutes, Ron started fidgeting.

            “Stop that, Weasel!” Draco snapped out in a harsh whisper.

            Ron stopped and glared at Draco. He opened his mouth to snap back, but Harry interrupted.

            “Pansy? Could I hold her?” He shifted on the bed.

            Pansy smiled and carefully handed Violet to Harry. Harry stared down at his daughter in awe.

            Draco kept his face expressionless as he watched Harry take Violet. His heart clenched as he saw the awe and love on the Gryffindor’s face. Harry’s touch was reverent as he stroked a finger down the little girl’s cheek.

            “She’s beautiful,” Harry whispered.

            “Well, let’s hope she doesn’t get my nose,” Pansy said, leaning over to look at her baby’s face. “My baby pictures look fine, but as I grew…” Pansy shrugged.

            “She’d look adorable with a cute little upturned nose,” Harry protested.

            Pansy blushed. Draco looked away. Ron’s and Hermione’s jaws dropped open.

            When Pansy caught sight of the incredulous looks on the faces of Harry’s friends, she frowned and leaned over to whisper into Harry’s ear.

            “Harry? Why haven’t they suggested that Violet isn’t yours or something? I mean, they seemed to have accepted this pretty easily considering,” she whispered. “And aren’t they a bit shocked that their gay friend has a baby with a girl?”

            Harry blushed and cleared his throat. He leaned over and whispered into Pansy’s ear, “They must know that the Headmaster or Madam Pomfrey would have used the paternity spell. And they don’t know I’m gay. I hadn’t told anyone until last night.”

            Pansy’s eyes widened just a bit and her mouth briefly made an ‘o’ of surprise. Then she blinked, frowned and whispered, “Well, I’m telling you now, if they have a problem with gay people they are _not_ allowed anywhere near my baby!”

            Harry didn’t even flinch at the hard tone she used. “I agree. I would never let people like that near my daughter,” he whispered.

            Pansy looked at Harry thoughtfully for a moment. “Harry? If you are gay you are only allowed to raise our daughter with another man.”

            “What?” Harry turned to her in confusion.

            Pansy rolled her eyes. “You will set a horrible example for our daughter if you are miserable. So you are going to find a good man and get married and be happy.”

            “What, are you going to make me promise?” Harry asked, teasing, remembering the promises she had exacted from him and Draco the night before.

            Pansy smirked. “As a matter of fact, promise me now.”

            Harry laughed quietly. “Fine, I promise.” He shook his head.

            The other three occupants in the room just watched the whispered exchange in disbelief. Draco glared out the window while Ron and Hermione looked uncomfortable. Ron cleared his throat.

            A few minutes passed in silence as the parents returned to watching their child sleep. Draco felt his eyes continuously being drawn back to the scene on the bed. Hermione was staring at Violet like she was studying or maybe inspecting her, but that was just Hermione. Ron was getting a little bored.

            “So, Harry,” Hermione said, “have you guys talked yet about who you are going to name Violet’s godfather or godmother? I read last night that there’s a ceremony when a child is three weeks old where the parents officially name the godmother or godfather.”

            “Come on, Hermione,” Ron said excited, “I’m Harry’s best mate! He’s gonna ask me. Right, Harry?”

            “And why ever would he do that?” Draco sneered. “It’s not like you could take care of Vi if anything happened-”

            Harry felt Pansy tense next to him. She started picking at the blanket. He looked up. Hermione had joined the ‘discussion’ on who would be named Vi’s godparent.

            “If you can’t be quite, you won’t be allowed back in,” Harry said fiercely. The argument ended immediately. “Now, Pansy and I have not yet had a chance to talk about who we are going to name Violet’s godfather or godmother. I’m not sure about Pansy, but it is something I’ve thought about.” Harry took a deep breath. “And I think there’s really only one choice. I’m fairly sure Pansy will agree with me.”

            Hermione smiled. “Are you going to name both a godfather and a godmother?”

            Draco sneered. “You can’t have two godparents, Granger. Not unless the people chosen are a married couple.”

            “No,” Harry said. “Draco’s going to be Violet’s godfather.”

            Every other person in the room, except little Vi, stared at Harry in shock.

            “Malfoy?” Ron asked in disbelief. “You are naming _Malfoy_ as your daughter’s godfather?!” His face started turning red and his hands curled into fists.

            Harry sighed. “Ron, mate, you’re still going to be a part of Vi’s life. You are still going to be her Uncle Ron and Hermione is still going to be her Aunt Hermione.”

            “Harry, why would you name _Malfoy_ Violet’s godfather?” Hermione asked, sounding hurt.

            “No offense, Hermione,” Harry said, “but I couldn’t name you Vi’s godmother. Like me, you were raised by muggles and there are plenty of things you and I just won’t be able to teach her. No matter how much you could get from books, there are some things we just won’t know we didn’t know.”

            “And what about me?” Ron asked indignantly.

            Harry sighed again. “Ron, I have every intention of surviving this bloody war.” He gave Pansy a sad, apologetic look. “And I think that Violet deserves to have someone around who can talk to her about her mother.”

            “You can’t do that?” Ron asked.

            “Not the way someone who has been her friend since childhood can,” Harry snapped. “Look, I’m sorry, but unless Pansy or Draco disagrees, Draco is going to be Violet’s godfather.”

            “Fine,” Ron said. He turned and stormed out of the room. Hermione looked torn for a moment, but then she followed after her boyfriend.

            Harry sighed again as the door closed behind them. The two Slytherins were still staring at Harry.

            “Harry-” Pansy started.

            Before she could say anything, the door opened and Snape walked in. He lifted a brow at the scene before him, but all he said was, “Potter, come with me.” He then turned around and swept out of the room.

            Harry started to hand Violet back to Pansy. As she reached for Violet, Pansy asked, “Harry, are you sure?”

            Harry looked at her for a moment and then stood with Violet still in his arms. He walked around the bed and put Violet into Draco’s arms. “Here, Draco.  Get to know your goddaughter.”

            Draco stared, wide-eyed, at the little girl in his arms as Harry walked out.

            Harry left the infirmary and found Snape waiting for him in the corridor.

            “This way, Potter,” Snape said before he turned and walked away.

            Harry hurried after him. It didn’t take Harry long at all to figure out that they were heading for the dungeons. Soon they arrived at Snape’s office. Harry followed the older man in and turned and watched as he warded the door.

            “Okay, so what’s this about?” Harry asked. With everything that was going on, Harry figured it could be any number of things. He just hoped that there wasn’t some new problem that he was going to have to deal with.

            Severus lifted an eyebrow at Harry. “You did say you were certain about marrying Miss Parkinson, did you not?”

            Harry’s brows rose. “Well, yeah.”

            Severus rolled his eyes at the response. “I believe I told you that you could not do so without your guardians signing the necessary paperwork?”

            Harry’s eyes widened. “What? Are we going to my Aunt’s house? Right now?”

            “We are,” Severus replied. “Wait here.”

            Severus went through a door Harry had always wondered about. Apparently, Snape’s office was connected to his private quarters.

            Snape was gone several minutes. Harry started wandering around looking at things. He was trying to read the faded title of a book on the corner of Snape’s desk when he heard the door open. He looked up and just stared.

            Snape was dressed in a conservative muggle suit and he had his hair pulled back. Harry was actually a bit relieved when the man scowled at him, dispelling some of the strangeness of his look.

            “Your uniform will be suitable. Just take off the robes and we will be ready to go,” Severus said.

            Harry slipped out of his outer robes and laid them over the back of the chair in front of Snape’s desk. Snape held out a ragged glove and Harry winced. He hated portkeys.

            Harry and Severus arrived in Little Whinging at the edge of a park between some tall shrubs and the side of a building. Severus put the glove into his pocket and stepped out into the park. Harry followed.

            Harry stopped when Snape did and then he flushed when Snape raised an eyebrow. Of course. Snape had no reason to know his way around this neighborhood. Harry looked around until he had gotten his bearings and then started off, Snape trailing behind.

            It was a short walk and in only minutes, Harry and Snape were standing at the door of 4 Privet Drive. Harry gave Snape a nervous look and the older man reached out and pressed the doorbell. Harry shifted from foot to foot as they waited for someone to answer the door.

            It was eleven in the morning on a Saturday so Harry knew that all three of his muggle relatives were probably home. They tried to save up all of their outings for the summer so that they could avoid him. That and Dudley liked to sleep in on the weekends.

            Finally, they heard footsteps inside the house and then the door opened.

            “Yes?” Petunia Dursley said as she opened the door.

            Harry and Severus were briefly treated to the horse-faced woman’s attempt at a charming smile before she caught sight of Harry.

            “What are you doing here? Did they kick you out of that freak school of yours?!” she demanded, looking up and down the street as if afraid of who was watching and might see them standing on her doorstep.

            “As charming as ever, ‘Tuney,’” Snape drawled mockingly.

            Petunia’s head jerked around so fast Harry half expected her to fall over. “What? Who-? How dare you!”

            “If you continue to make us stand on your doorstep, I may decide to provide our audience with enough fuel for gossip for several years,” Snape said smoothly, reaching into his coat and pulling out his wand.

            Panic flared in the woman’s eyes and she quickly ushered them into the house.

            “Petunia? Who was at the door?” Vernon asked when Petunia walked into the living room. He stood and went red in the face as he saw Harry and Snape follow his wife into the room.

            “Harry, go get your things from your room,” Snape said.

            Harry shrugged. “I never leave anything here that matters.”

            Snape raised an eyebrow. Harry just shrugged again. Snape rolled his eyes and said, “Go look anyway.”

            Harry rolled his eyes back. “I have to write to Remus anyway.” He walked over to the small desk in the corner of the living room and took a pen, an envelope and some paper, ignoring his aunt’s outraged gasp and his uncle’s blustering. Then he went into the kitchen to sit at the kitchen table to write his letter.

            It didn’t take Harry long to write his letter. He didn’t want to put any details in the letter in case someone else should get a hold of it. And some things just should be done in person. Harry felt that telling Remus he had a daughter was something he should do face to face.

            Harry walked back into the living room with the sealed envelope in his pocket. He saw his aunt standing with her arms folded across her chest, glaring at Snape. Vernon looked suspicious.

            “Now, you are certain that this means that boy will no longer have to come back here?” Vernon asked.

            “Trust me, when I leave this house today you will never see me again,” Harry said before Snape could answer. Harry looked at his aunt for a long moment before turning away. “So, are we ready then?”

            Snape lifted an eyebrow and, rather than walk outside, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the ragged glove. Harry grinned at him and crossed the room. He gave his muggle relatives a bright smile as he reached out and touched the portkey and he enjoyed the brief look of horror and fear on their faces before they disappeared.

            Back in Snape’s office, Harry stumbled and would have fallen on his face if Snape hadn’t reached out and grabbed his arm.

            “Thanks,” Harry said, looking at the older man in surprise.

            Severus ignored Harry’s thanks. “I need to file these documents at the Ministry.”

            Harry snorted. “She didn’t even ask did she?”

            “No,” Snape said shortly.

            Harry shrugged. “I thought so. Well, I have to go give the Headmaster my letter to Remy.”

            “Telling the wolf of your good news?” Severus asked with a note of disapproval in his tone.

            Harry frowned. “Not in a letter. I didn’t want the wrong person to find out. I just told him I needed him here and that the Headmaster agreed it would be best if he returned as soon as possible.”

            “You are having him come here just so that you can tell him-?”

            Harry shook his head. “No. I’m going to need someone to watch Vi while Pansy and I are in class. And maybe help out during the nights. I heard that newborns are often up all night.”

            “I would have thought you would have wanted Molly Weasley to help with that.”

            Harry shook his head firmly. “No way. I know she probably seems like the best choice, but I don’t think it would be a good idea to ask her for help. She might have a lot of experience with children, but she would come in and try to take over.

            “She would definitely make Pansy uncomfortable. Pansy only has a few months to be a mother. She doesn’t need someone coming in and trying to take that from her. Not that Mrs. Weasley would do it on purpose, but I know she wouldn’t be able to help herself from mothering Violet.

            “Besides, if I asked her for help now it would be difficult to set boundaries later. If I let Mrs. Weasley come in and help she’s going to think she has the job for life. I might be young to be a father, but I _am_ a father. Violet is my daughter and _I’m_ going to be the one to love her and raise her.”

            Severus raised an eyebrow. “I take it that is the reason for Mr. Weasley’s little tantrum earlier? I saw him and Miss Granger leave before I arrived.”

            “Uh, no actually. They don’t know about this yet. They were upset that I decided that Draco would be Violet’s godfather,” Harry said.

            Harry grinned at the look of shock that crossed Snape’s face and he waited for the man to ask.

            “Explain,” Severus demanded.

            Harry gave a little laugh. That was just like the contrary man. “Well, like I told Pansy, Draco, Hermione and Ron I have every intention of surviving this stupid war.” A hard look came to Harry’s face. “No one else will be raising my daughter.” He shook his head. “So I thought it would be good to have someone around that could tell Vi about her mother.”

            Snape just stared at Harry for a moment. “And?”

            Harry grinned again. “What makes you think there’s anything more?”

            “You reasons for marrying Miss Parkinson.”

            Harry sighed and nodded. “And several things actually. If I’m still alive, my friends will be around my daughter because they will be around me. By making Draco Violet’s godfather he knows he will always have a place in her life. Also, I thought that knowing that might make it easier for him to switch sides. I thought it would make it clear to him that I was serious in my offer of welcoming him on my side in this war.”

            Severus narrowed his eyes at the younger man. “There is something else.”

            “Yes.” Harry hesitated for a moment and then shrugged. “Given her parents, Vi could very well end up being sorted into Slytherin. I mean, not only is Pansy in Slytherin, but Slytherin was the Sorting Hat’s first choice for me. I’ve noticed that Slytherins with Slytherin parents seem to…I don’t know, have an easier time I guess. In being a Slytherin I mean.

            “If there is some advantage to having a Slytherin around when you are growing up for Slytherin students, I want to make sure that Vi has that advantage. She might not end up in Slytherin, but being a Gryffindor is pretty easy. It rather comes naturally.” Harry shrugged.

            “I know I’m still pretty young,” Harry said, “and I know that I’ve only been a father for a couple days, but…I always thought that’s how fathers _should_ act. They should do anything they can for their children. Having Draco be Vi’s godfather means she will have someone around to tell her about her mother and to teach her how to be a Slytherin if that’s what she wants or needs.”

            Severus stared at Harry. “I can see you put a lot of thought into this,” he finally said.

            “I’ve always wanted a family of my own. Even when I was too little to really be thinking about that kind of thing, I would think about what kind of father I would be, about all of the things I would do for my children and how much I would care for them.”

            “And have you thought of what would happen if you didn’t manage to survive this war?” Severus asked quietly.

            “If I die, it will mean that Voldemort has probably won. In that case, if anyone can do it, then I’m sure the Malfoys will be able to hide the fact that Violet is my daughter. I’m sure it would occur to them to suggest that she is _Draco_ and Pansy’s daughter,” Harry said, equally quiet. “And just in case it doesn’t…I’m going to have a will made as soon as Pansy and I are married. I’m going to write a letter, to be delivered to Draco immediately upon my death should the Dark Lord still be alive. I’m going to ask him to do a blood adoption so that even if someone performed a paternity spell it would show that Draco is her father.”

            “You really have thought about this quite a lot,” Severus said thoughtfully. “You have known less than twenty-four hours that you have a daughter and you have thought through all of that.” He shook his head. “You would have done well in Slytherin.”

            Harry stared at the older man in shock.


	4. The Fourth Promise

            Sunday, just as he had the day before, Harry rushed straight to the infirmary to see Pansy and Violet. This time when he arrived, Draco was already there. When Harry walked into the room, Draco was sitting in the same position Harry had sat in the previous two days. He was on the bed next to Pansy and he was holding Vi.

            Both Slytherins were sitting with their backs up against the headboard, but where Pansy had her legs stretched out under the blankets Draco was sitting on top of the blankets with his legs crossed.

            Harry saw Draco stiffen when he walked in. Harry walked over to the bed and sat in front of Draco. He leaned over and looked at Violet. She opened her eyes as he leaned close and Harry smiled at her.

            “Hey, Vi. How are you and your mum doing today?” Harry asked.

            “We’re fine, Harry,” Pansy said. “We’d probably already be out of here if,” Pansy cleared her throat and blinked rapidly for a few seconds, “if I weren’t ill.”

            Harry reached over and squeezed her hand. He felt her engagement ring bite into his palm as he did so.

            “Potter, are you sure about this?” Draco asked quietly.

            “Draco, you are holding my daughter, who is going to be your goddaughter. I think we’ve earned the right to call each other by our first names,” Harry said. “And am I sure about what?”

            Draco glared. “About-”

            Draco was interrupted by the entrance of Hermione and Ron. The two Gryffindors entered quietly and looked uncomfortable. They didn’t come very far into the room.

            Draco turned back to Harry with an eyebrow raised. “Are you sure about making me Vi’s godfather?”

            “Yes,” Harry said without hesitation, despite the sudden tension he had felt from his friends. “I told you yesterday. I’ve actually put a lot of thought into this. It isn’t just a whim, Draco.”

            “‘ _Draco_ ’?” Ron asked in a strangled whisper.

            Harry glared over his shoulder at his best friend. “Ron, whether you like it or not, Draco is going to be in _my_ life for the rest of my life.” Harry gave his friend a hard look. “He’s going to be Vi’s godfather and I’m not going to be constantly fighting with him, especially in front of Violet. I’m not asking you to like him, but we are all going to need to at least be polite.”

            Harry turned back to Vi, who was still awake and looking around. Mostly she seemed to look back and forth between Harry and Draco. Harry smiled at the little girl. Pansy poked Draco in the shoulder.

            “Smile, Draco. Madam Pomfrey told me that babies like to look at people’s faces. You don’t want her to think you don’t like her,” Pansy said.

            Draco glared at his best friend and then rolled his eyes and looked down at the girl he held. “Your mother likes giving orders.”

            Pansy glared at him. “You are still not smiling.” Harry gave a little laugh and Vi’s eyes moved to him. “See?” Pansy asked.

            Draco ignored her. When Vi looked at him again, he smiled.

            “Can I hold her, Parkinson?” Hermione asked. She and Ron had gotten much closer when they had noticed that the baby was awake, though Ron was still hanging back a bit.

            Pansy suddenly tensed and leaned closer as if to protect her baby. “I don’t think so, Granger.”

            “You’ll have to wait until after the ceremony, Granger, since you aren’t the one that was chosen for her godparent,” Draco said.

            “I’ve never heard about that and I’ve read up on the ceremony quite a bit,” Hermione said suspiciously.

            “That’s because it’s not part of the tradition, Hermione,” Ron said grudgingly, “it’s just a superstition that some families have. Only the parents and the chosen godparent are supposed to hold the baby before the ceremony. The only exception is usually the person who delivers the baby.”

            “Oh,” Hermione said. She settled for leaning close to look at the baby.

            After a while, Ron got bored again. He especially couldn’t take any more of Harry and ‘ _Draco_ ’ smiling at the baby. “Harry, mate,” Ron said apologetically. “I told Dean and Seamus I would play a game of Exploding Snap with them.”

            “Oh! That’s right,” Hermione said. “I told…oh my god! Ginny!” The others looked at her in confusion as she suddenly glared fiercely at Harry. “Harry, does Ginny know about this?!”

            “What are you talking about, Hermione?” Harry said. “Of course not! The fewer people who know the longer we can keep this-”

            “What am I talking about?! I’ll tell you what I’m talking about! You only broke up with Ginny six months ago!” At Harry’s blank look, Hermione said, “Harry James Potter! It takes _nine_ months for a baby to be born!”

            Harry winced. “Ah, Hermione…”

            “You cheated on Ginny?” Ron asked furiously.

            “Ron, keep your voice down!” Harry said, “And it’s not-”

            “Did you break up with her so you could be with Parkinson?” Ron asked, getting louder.

            Violet started to cry. Draco cuddled her close and managed to quiet her just before the door opened.

            “What is going on in here?” Madam Pomfrey asked, keeping her voice low. She took in the scene in one glance. Harry was sitting on the bed with Pansy and Draco while Ron and Hermione stood at the end of the bed glaring at their friend. “That’s it! Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley, you will not be allowed in this room again! You will have to wait until I’ve released Miss Parkinson and her child to see the child again.”

            Harry watched as Madam Pomfrey shooed them out of the room. When the door closed behind them, he groaned and ran a hand through his hair.

            “I’m sorry, Harry,” Pansy said quietly.

            Harry shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll talk to Ginny and if she can forgive me, then those two won’t have a reason to stay angry with me.” Suddenly, he grinned.

            “You are looking forward to telling Weaselette that you cheated on her?” Draco asked with a raised brow.

            “No,” Harry said, still grinning.

            Draco glared at him. “Then what’s so bloody funny?”

            Pansy smack Draco lightly on the shoulder. “Watch your language! And I think what Harry’s smiling about is the way you are cuddling with Vi.”

            Draco gave them a haughty look, but he didn’t stop cuddling the little girl against his chest.

            “So what can you two tell me about this ceremony to name a child’s godparent?” Harry asked. “I was raised by muggles so I’ve never heard of it before.”

************************************

            The next week past quickly for Harry.

            He went to his classes, but he ate his meals in the infirmary with Pansy and Draco. They talked a lot about the plans for the ceremony where Draco would be named Violet’s godfather. Harry told them about the suite and Remus’ impending arrival.

            He apologized to Pansy for not asking her opinion, but she seemed too relieved that he had chosen someone other than Mrs. Weasley to mind. Since she and Draco couldn’t come up with anyone else anyway, it was agreed that Remus would be a suitable babysitter especially when Harry assured them that Remus had somewhere to go on the nights of the full moon.

            Rumors were going around school about Pansy’s illness and the attack on Harry, but no one connected the two in any way. It was a small blessing in Harry’s opinion. Usually gossips would love to make up some connection to make the story even better.

            The Headmaster had made an announcement about Pansy’s illness and Harry’s attack and told the other students that they would both be getting private rooms. There was very little complaining since everyone knew that the situations must be extremely serious for the Headmaster to take that action.

            Because Hermione and Ron were not talking to him, Harry hadn’t shown them to his suite yet. He got lonely in the evenings and he found himself in Snape’s office of all places.

            The first night he talked to Snape about the plans for the ceremony and for the wedding. When Harry left, Snape made a comment about having to stay up to finish grading essays so the next night Harry took his homework down to the Potions Master’s office. It was strangely peaceful. Harry got the feeling he wasn’t the only one who enjoyed the companionable silence. He turned up in Snape’s office every night after that with his homework.

************************************

            Friday Harry was in the living room of his suite waiting for Pansy and Violet when Remus walked in.

            “Remus!” Harry said, smiling. He crossed the room and hugged the werewolf.

            “Harry! Is everything alright? The Headmaster wouldn’t tell me anything. He just said I should talk to you and your letter only said you needed me right away,” Remus said.

            Harry pulled back and blushed. He had actually not thought about how he was going to explain the situation to Remus. He cleared his throat. “Uh, I’m fine, Remus. You see…” Harry shifted from foot to foot.

            Remus set his hands on Harry’s shoulders. “Harry, whatever it is, you can tell me.”

            “Um, okay,” Harry took a deep breath. “Pansy had a baby,” he said in a rush.

            Remus looked at him blankly. “Pansy? You mean Pansy Parkinson?”

            Harry nodded. When Remus just continued to stare at him blankly he cleared his throat again. “Uh, she had, um, my baby,” he mumbled.

            Remus’ eyes went wide. “What?” When Harry just shrugged, Remus sat down abruptly. “Harry, I thought I had taught you a contraceptive charm? And aren’t you gay?” Remus asked, bewildered.

            Harry sighed and sat down beside Remus. If there was one person he could trust with this knowledge it was Remy. He was too worried about Ron or Hermione accidentally telling someone so he let them believe he and Pansy had been lovers. Draco was Pansy’s business.

            “I _am_ gay, Remy,” Harry said and then he told the werewolf what had happened over the past week. He even gave Remus all of his real reasons for the choices he had made. Harry was a little nervous about how Remus would take hearing about his Slytherin tendencies, but Remus was as understanding as always.

            “So,” Remus said after Harry had finished talking. “I’m here to be your nanny.”

            Harry grinned. “Well yeah. Though Pansy and I agree that we want to do as much ourselves as we can, we are obviously going to need help.”

            Remus grinned. “Do either of you know how to change diapers?”

            Harry grimaced. “Yeah, Madam Pomfrey showed us.” His grin returned. “You should have seen the faces Draco made!”

            Remus and Harry were laughing when the door opened. Pansy came in with Violet in her arms and Draco walked in behind her. Both Slytherins stopped when they saw Remus. Harry and Remus stood.

            “Good afternoon, Miss Parkinson, Mr. Malfoy,” Remus said and then smiled. “Is this Vi?”

            Pansy eyed the werewolf for a moment and then nodded. “This is Violet Delphine Potter.”

            Remus walked over and leaned down to look at the little girl. “She’s as adorable as Harry said.” He noticed that Pansy and Draco both seemed tense, but he made no move to touch the baby. He was a pureblood and familiar with the superstition. He turned to Draco. “Harry was telling me you are going to be her godfather. Congratulations.”

            Draco warily inclined his head, acknowledging the congratulations.

            Just before the silence could get awkward the door opened again and Snape walked in. He stopped at the sight of Remus standing next to Harry.

            “Lupin,” Snape said politely. For him at least. It was only a little sneer.

            “Severus,” Remus said with a small smile.

            Harry waited expectantly to hear what had brought the Potions Master to his- _their_ -suite. He noticed the Slytherins looked wary.

            Snape turned to Harry and ignored everyone else in the room. “Everything has been arranged. The wedding will be tomorrow. The Headmaster will officiate and the wedding will take place here in your suite.”

            “Wedding?” Draco asked. There was something in his tone that Harry couldn’t identify. “What wedding?”

            “Draco, Granger told you this was an engagement ring,” Pansy said, rolling her eyes and wiggling the fingers of her left hand.

            “Did you get-?” Harry asked.

            “Yes. Sunday morning you will come to my office at ten to discuss the other matter,” Snape said.

            Harry had the sudden impulse to hug the man. Snape narrowed his eyes at Harry as if he could see the thought cross Harry’s mind. Harry was relieved when the impulse died. The shock of the past week must really be getting to him.

            “Right. Thanks for everything,” Harry said.

            Snape suddenly glared. “Do not let it happen again, Potter.”

            Harry looked at the older man in shock. First a compliment and now a joke?! “Are you feeling okay, Professor?”

            Snape snorted. “I was not joking, Potter. With you, it is a legitimate concern.” With that the man turned and left the room.

            “Remus,” Harry whispered. “Do you know a spell to test for Polyjuice?”

***********************************

            That night, the occupants of the suite settled into their new home. Harry and Pansy both had a baby bed in their room for Violet and they agreed to take turns getting up with her in the night.

            Vi would start off in Pansy’s room and Pansy would get up with her the first time she would cry. When she had gotten Vi settled down again, she would put her in the bed in Harry’s room and Harry would get up with her the next time and put her to sleep in Pansy’s room. Then the next night she would start off in Harry’s room and so on.

            The next morning Harry, Pansy and Remus ate breakfast together at the table in the kitchen. Violet sat in a baby carrier on one end of the table. Halfway through breakfast Remus received a summons from the Headmaster and Fawkes took him to the Headmaster’s office.

            “Harry?” Pansy asked once they were alone.

            “Yes?”

            “Could you watch Vi today? I want to do my hair and make-up before the wedding.”

            “Sure. I just need to go to Gryffindor Tower at some point to ask Ron and Hermione to come to the wedding. When’s Draco coming by?”

            “He should be here just after lunch.”

            “Alright. I’ll wait until he gets here to go see Ron and Hermione,” Harry said.

            Pansy frowned across the table at him. “Do you have dress robes?”

            “Of course,” Harry said. “What about you? Do you have a dress?”

            “Of course. After that surprise Yule Ball in fourth year I don’t know any girl that hasn’t made sure to bring at least one formal gown with her to school.”

            Harry nodded and the rest of the meal passed in silence.

***********************************

            Harry was sitting on the floor between the sofa and the coffee table holding Vi in his lap, feeding her a bottle and reading from an open book on the coffee table when Draco came in.

            “Hey,” Harry said.

            “Hello,” Draco said a bit stiffly. “Where’s Pansy?”

            “In her room getting ready. She’s doing her hair and make-up and whatever else,” Harry said, adjusting Vi so that he could turn a page in his book.

            Draco groaned. “That could take all day.”

            Harry looked up with a smile. “Yeah, that’s the impression I got. Listen, could you watch Vi while I run to Gryffindor Tower to get Ron and Hermione?”

            Draco came further into the room and draped his dress robes across the back of the sofa. “Sure. I just need somewhere to change before the wedding.”

            “You can use Remus’ room,” Harry said, pointing to the middle room. “I’d let you use mine, but I’ll need to change when I get back.”

            Draco nodded and sat on the sofa. Harry carefully handed Vi to him, making sure to keep the bottle in her mouth. Once Draco was settled on the sofa with the little girl, Harry stood and took his book to his room.

            “Okay, I’ll be back soon,” Harry said. He leaned over and smiled down at Vi before turning to leave.

            Even after seeing Harry with Vi over the past week Draco was still surprised at what he saw on the Gryffindor’s face when he looked at his daughter. Draco stared at Harry as Harry looked at Vi. Draco wondered if Harry even realized that he briefly turned that smile on _him_ before he left.

********************************

            Harry stepped into the Gryffindor common room and was grateful for the good weather that had most of the students outside. He saw Hermione and Ron sitting on a sofa and hurried over.

            “Hey, Hermione, Ron. I need to talk to you,” Harry said.

            Hermione glared up at him. “Harry, have you even tried to talk to Ginny yet?”

            “No, Hermione, but-”

            “No buts, Harry! You can’t avoid it forever.”

            “I know, Hermione.”

            “We were studying together. She just went up to get a book. You can talk to her when she comes back down.”

            “Right now isn’t a good time, Hermione. You see-” Harry was starting to get annoyed with Hermione. Ron was being unusually quite, just sitting there red-faced and letting Hermione do all the talking.

            Hermione glared at him again. “No more excuses, Harry.” She quickly stood and gathered her things. “Look, there she is. Talk to me after you have settled things between you and Ginny.”

            By this point, Harry was beyond annoyed with Hermione. He had moved into outright anger. He glared at her back as she walked away. Ron soon followed.

            “Harry? Is everything okay?” Ginny said as she reached him.

            “Everything is just fine,” Harry said through gritted teeth. Here he was, trying to ask his best friends to come to his wedding and they were going to treat him like that!

            “Try again, Harry,” Ginny said. “All week Ron and Hermione have acted funny whenever your name is mentioned. They wouldn’t even tell me if you were okay after the attack! Every time I asked, Ron would get all mad and storm off and Hermione would give me this guilty, pitying look. What’s going on, Harry?”

            Harry took a deep breath. Hermione was right about one thing. He might as well get this over with now. “Ginny, could we talk?”

            Ginny looked worried. “Harry, that’s the same thing you said just before you broke up with me. What’s going on?”

            Harry motioned to two seats under one window. “Sit down?”

            They sat across from each other and Harry used a privacy spell. That made Ginny even more nervous.

            “Okay, Harry. Now I’m worried,” Ginny said.

            Harry tried to give her a reassuring smile. “Sorry.” He ran a hand through his hair, trying to think of what to say to her. Finally he sighed. “Look, Ginny. I’m about to tell you something you can’t tell anyone else. Before I say anything, I need you to swear you won’t tell anyone.”  
            “I swear. You know I can keep a secret.”

            Harry nodded. “You see…Ron and Hermione are mad at me because they think I cheated on you. They want me to admit to you what I did and I guess they want me to suffer whatever punishment you see fit to inflict on me.”

            “Harry,” Ginny said quietly, pain in both her voice and her expression.

            Harry took a deep breath and did what was necessary. “So, I cheated on you. Are you going to hex me now?” he asked just as quietly.

            Ginny quickly wiped away a tear. “Harry…Harry, I-I cheated on you the entire time we were together,” Ginny said in a small voice.

            “I know,” Harry said softly.

            Ginny gasped. “You knew?” she asked shakily.

            Harry nodded. “I didn’t want to believe it at first, but then I saw you two kissing.”

            Ginny winced. “Why didn’t you say anything, Harry?” she whispered.

            Harry gave her a small smile. “A couple of reasons I guess. It made me feel a little less guilty. I mean, I cared for you, but I wasn’t in love with you and you didn’t deserve me leading you on. It didn’t take me long to figure out we weren’t going to work out, Ginny. I probably knew even before we ever got together. Seeing you with someone else, someone you really love…it freed me to break up with you. I don’t think I was the only one relieved when it was over either.”

            Ginny shook her head and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Harry.”

            “Don’t be, Gin. If I hadn’t seen you and Luna kissing, I might still be in denial about being gay myself.”

            Ginny’s eyes went wide. “You-?” Harry nodded. “Is that why Ron and Hermione are so angry? Did you cheat on me with some guy?”

            Harry quickly shook his head. “No. Actually, they don’t know I’m gay. I haven’t told that many people yet.” Harry frowned. “How come you and Luna aren’t together openly? I wouldn‘t think either of you would care what others think.”

            Ginny blushed. “Well, it’s just…Ever since you and Ron became friends and because of the crush I used to have on you…well, everyone in the family thinks we are ‘meant to be’ and they keep hinting that they expect us to get back together and…I know they mean well, but the pressure is really intense, Harry. And I don’t want Luna to meet my family and think they are disappointed because they don’t like her.”

            “Trust me, that won’t be a problem now,” Harry said with a sigh. He ran a hand through his hair.

            “Harry?” Ginny asked curiously. “How did they find out you cheated on me? And why now?”

            Harry winced again. “Okay, well, this is where the not-telling-anyone part becomes especially important. I, uh, sort of…got Pansy pregnant,” Harry said with a blush.

            Ginny gasped. “Oh my god! Like, a girl is going to have your baby?! Wait, Pansy? _Pansy Parkinson?!_ ”

            Harry nodded and cleared his throat. “Uh, more like, Pansy just _had_ my baby.”

            “What?” Ginny asked, gaping at him.

            Harry nodded and smiled brightly. “Violet Delphine Potter was a week old yesterday.”

            Ginny just stared at him for a long moment. Then she blinked. “Oh! So is that the ‘illness’ that the Headmaster was talking about?”

            Harry gave her a sad look and shook his head.

            “Oh,” Ginny said softly.

            “Ginny?” Harry asked when he couldn’t stand the silence any longer.

            “Oh!” Ginny looked up at him startled. “Oh, sorry, Harry.” She licked her lips. “Well, congratulations, Harry.”

            Harry blinked. “So…you aren’t going to hex me?”

            Ginny gave him a sad smile. “No. I was cheating on you from the first. I have no right to be upset about something like that.”

            Harry looked at her for a moment. “Um, there’s…one more thing.”

            Ginny sat forward in her chair. “Okay, Harry. I can handle it.”

            “We aren’t telling anyone, but…Pansy and I are getting married.”

            “What?” Ginny asked, confused. “But I thought you were gay?”

            Harry nodded. “I am.”

            “Because she had your baby. Harry, you are both only going to be miserable if you marry without loving each other,” Ginny said.

            “Pansy…she’s _really_ sick, Ginny. And the ones responsible are her parents.” Harry sighed. “I don’t know if she would want me to tell you this, but her parents cast the Fading curse on her.”

            Ginny gasped in horror.

            Harry nodded. “And she said they have some kind of guardianship over her and the only way she can be free of them is to get married. So…” Harry shrugged uncomfortably. “It was the only thing she wanted and I could give her that. She gave me Violet and…I figure I could do that for her.”

            “Oh,” Ginny said, understanding.

            Harry sighed again. “There’s actually one more thing I should probably tell you.”

            “What more could there be, Harry?” Ginny asked in disbelief. “You cheated on me with _Pansy Parkinson_ , she had your baby, and you two are getting married. And despite that, you are telling me you are gay. What else is there?”

            Harry gave her a weak smile. “Uh, I decided to name Draco as Violet’s godfather.”

            Ginny looked at him blankly as if her mind had overloaded and had just shut down on her. Then she took a deep, shuddering breath. “Okay. I guess I can see why you would do that.” She sounded like she was trying really hard for Harry’s sake.  
            Harry looked at her incredulously. “Seriously?”

            “Harry, you are marrying the girl because she’s dying. I can see to you agreeing to make Dra-what the hell? _Draco?_ ”

            Harry shrugged. “He’s going to be my daughter’s godfather.”

            “Right,” Ginny said and then shook her head. “I’ll just-I just-…Right, so. I can see why you would agree to him being the godfather. You’re giving her peace of mind. Letting her know that we Gryffindors won’t corrupt her baby.” Ginny gave Harry a weak grin.

            “Something like that.”

            “So, when’s the wedding? I mean, if she is suffering from the Fading curse…” Ginny trailed off.

            Harry had an idea. “Do you have a formal dress, Gin?”

            Ginny blinked at the non sequitur. “Um, yes. After the Yule Ball, Mum made sure I brought one with me to school.”

            “Perfect. Do you think you could run up and grab it and meet me out in the corridor without anyone seeing it?” Harry asked.

            “Ah, yes,” Ginny said, confused.

            “Great! Go grab it!”

            Before she could ask any more questions Harry had dispelled the privacy charm and was standing. “I’ll wait in the corridor.”

            Ginny watched Harry rush out and then hurried up to her dorm. She met Harry outside the common room only a few minutes later. Harry grabbed her hand as soon as he saw her.

            “Come on! I hadn’t realized I was gone so long,” Harry said.

            “Harry? What’s going on?” Ginny asked as they rushed down corridors.

            “If we don’t hurry, we are going to be late.”

            “What? You mean you are-” Ginny broke off and looked around. “You mean it’s _today_?”

            “Yeah,” Harry said.

            “What about Ron and Hermione?”

            An annoyed look came to Harry’s face. “Well, I was trying to tell them, but they wouldn’t listen to anything I had to say until I had talked to you. When I kept trying to tell them, they walked away.”

            “After everything that’s happened they really did that?” Ginny asked breathlessly. She and Harry were nearly running.

            “I think it’s really about the fact that I didn’t pick them,” Harry said, “to…you know.”

            “My brother’s an idiot,” Ginny said as they came to a stop in front of a painting of a garden with a veiled woman sitting on a bench in one corner. Ginny only caught a glimpse of the empty living room as Harry dragged her to a bedroom.

            “Here,” Harry said. “you can change in my bathroom while I change in my bedroom.” Harry practically shoved Ginny into his bathroom and closed the door.

            “Harry, you are lucky I thought to bring my make-up with me!” Ginny yelled through the door.

            In his bedroom, Harry hurried to get ready. He was upset with Ron and Hermione. It was pretty sad when his ex-girlfriend, who thought he was marrying a girl he had gotten pregnant while he was going out with her, was being more supportive than his two best friends.

            When Harry was ready he knocked on the bathroom door. “Ginny? Are you ready yet?”

            The bathroom door opened. Harry sighed in relief before he caught sight of Ginny and he quickly slapped a hand over his eyes. “Ginny, you were supposed to finish dressing before you came out!”

            “Harry, my zipper’s stuck. Can you get it?” Ginny asked.

            Harry moaned and removed his hand from over his eyes. Ginny had her back to him and she was holding her dress up with one hand and her hair with the other. Harry fumbled with the zipper for a while and then said, “Here, let’s move over here to the light.”

            Harry and Ginny shuffled over to the light by Harry’s bed. A few minutes later there was a knock on Harry’s bedroom door.

            “Yeah?” Harry called out.

            Apparently, the person at the door took that as permission to enter. The door swung open and Draco came in. “Potter, are you ready yet?” Draco stopped as he caught sight of Ginny, half dressed. “What the hell is going on in here?” he asked coldly.

            “If you’d just wait outside, I’ll be out in a minute,” Harry said, still trying to get Ginny’s zipper to cooperate.

            Suddenly, Ginny shrieked and said, “Professor!”

            Harry looked up to see Snape standing in his doorway. He snorted at the look the man gave him. He just knew his professor was mentally making some sarcastic comment about him not being gay after all.

            “Professor Snape,” Harry said politely.

            “Potter, what is going on here?” Snape asked. Harry could swear there was a thread of amusement running through the man’s voice.

            _The stress is really starting to get to me. Or maybe I **do** need to try that spell I asked Remus about_.

            “Well, Professor, I invited Ginny to the wedding, but we were running a little late and then her zipper got stuck, so…” Harry shrugged. He looked up and noticed that Draco still looked like he was ready to hex someone. He focused on the stubborn zipper again. “Ginny, you did finish your make-up and stuff, right?”

            “Yes. And you should be grateful I do the understated look well, Harry!”

            “And where are Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger?” Snape asked.

            “Apparently, they had something more important to do,” Harry muttered angrily. “Aha!” he said triumphantly as the zipper started moving.

            “I take it that Miss Weasley is standing up for you then?” Snape asked neutrally.

            Harry grinned at the Slytherins over Ginny’s shoulder. “Yeah. Hey, Gin, you mind being my best woman?”

            Ginny gasped and blushed. Draco sneered. “You are marrying Pansy in just a few moments, Potter. You-”

            “It is a muggle term,” Snape interrupted. “In a muggle wedding the man that stands up for the groom is the best man and the woman that stands for the bride is the maid or matron of honor.”

            “Or,” Harry said, “in our case, the man of honor and the best woman. There you are, Ginny.”

            Ginny let her hair down and she quickly fixed it. Draco turned and left the room, Ginny and Harry soon following. As Harry passed Snape, the man handed him a small black box. Harry grinned. “Thanks.”

            Snape ignored his thanks and walked into the living room. The Headmaster, Remus and Pansy were waiting for them. Remus had on new dress robes and Pansy was holding Violet. Pansy was dressed in a lovely silky green dress with silver and emerald earrings. It was a nice contrast with Ginny’s vibrant red hair and pretty gold dress.

            Draco walked over and took Violet as everyone took their places.

            Harry handed the black box to Ginny and whispered, “Hold this for me? Just open it and hold it out when I reach for it, okay?”

            Ginny nodded and took the box. Pansy eyed the redhead suspiciously, but kept silent.

            The Headmaster looked around the room solemnly. “We are gathered here for a very special occasion. Today, Miss Pansy Parkinson will be marrying Mr. Harry Potter. They have chosen to use muggle traditions to celebrate their union and in respect to that, this ceremony will be held accordingly.”

            Dumbledore turned to Harry and Pansy. “Please join hands.” The two nervous students reached out and grabbed each other’s hands. “Harry, you may begin.”

            “Pansy,” Harry said, “given our situation, it is difficult to find vows that suit us. I can only speak honestly. I told you I had no regrets and I meant it. You have given me a beautiful daughter and I appreciate her for the priceless treasure that she is. No words can adequately describe how grateful I am for her. The best I can do is to promise to protect you and to take care of you for whatever time we have left and to always love and care for our daughter.” Harry took a deep breath and looked at Pansy steadily. “And that I promise, Pansy.”

            Harry took both of Pansy’s hands in one of his and reached out towards Ginny. She quickly opened the box and held it out to Harry. Harry reached in and pulled out a band of gold. It was delicate and feminine and had pansies etched around the band. He slipped the ring onto Pansy’s left ring finger.

            Pansy was teary as she took a shaky breath and began her vows. “I have no regrets either, Harry. I know that-I know that isn’t fair of me, but like you I know our daughter for the treasure she is. I owe you more than I can ever repay, Harry.” Pansy took inhaled deeply and held her head up proudly. “I promise, Harry, to give you my full and unwavering support. I promise to remain completely faithful to you. I promise to love our daughter with all my heart and to always choose what I feel is best for her.”

            Pansy and Ginny both looked uncertain, but Snape reached out and gently pulled Ginny’s hand towards Pansy until Pansy could see the matching gold band in the box for Harry. Harry’s band was thicker and lacked the pansies etched on Pansy’s ring, making it much more masculine. Pansy took the ring out of the box and slipped it onto the finger Harry held out for her.

            Dumbledore waved his wand over their joined hands and a golden halo briefly surrounded their hands before seeming to be absorbed into their wedding bands. “I now pronounce you man and wife. You may,” Dumbledore coughed. “You may kiss the bride.”

            Harry suppressed the semi-hysterical urge to laugh at the shock on the faces of the pureblood students. He gave Pansy’s hands a reassuring squeeze and leaned in. She hesitated for a moment and then lifted her chin and held still. Harry pressed his lips to Pansy’s in a short, chaste kiss. Pansy was blushing when he pulled back.

            “I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Potter,” Dumbledore said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews are greatly appreciated!


	5. Arrangements

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry has been so long since I have updated this story. I have re-written this chapter _six times_ and I'm still not completely happy with it. Somethings are being mentioned way too soon, but I'll just have to adjust my timeline because I'm not writing this chapter one more time! In any case, I hope you like it.
> 
> I will work on my other stories too. It's just between some RL stuff and my uncooperative muse, I haven't been able to focus on updating my stories. Though I do have seven chapters done of yet another story. However, I have too many WIPs posted already so I'm not posting that story until I have finished it.

Sunday, after breakfast with Pansy, Violet and Remus, Harry headed down to the dungeons. He was a little early, but he wanted to talk with Snape about some things.

Reaching Snape’s office, Harry entered when Snape barked out a command to do so. Seeing Harry, Snape lifted an eyebrow and made a show of checking the time. Harry smiled ruefully and sat in the chair in front of the Potion professor’s desk.

“I was hoping to talk to you before we go to Gringotts,” Harry said.

“About?” Snape asked, setting aside the quill he had been writing with.

“Have you had a chance to talk to Draco’s parents yet? I know you’ve been busy with planning the wedding and getting the rings and arranging this visit to Gringotts for me on top of everything else, but there’s less than two weeks until the ceremony naming Vi’s godfather…” Harry trailed off.

“I had planned to talk to them today after our visit to Gringotts.” Snape raised an eyebrow and leaned back in his chair. “Have you considered the details of the letter you intend for Draco to receive in the event of your death and Voldemort’s victory?”

Harry nodded and took an envelope out of his pocket. “I spent an entire week getting the wording just right. I also,” Harry reached in to his pocket again and brought out several sheets of parchment, “spent some time thinking of what else I wanted to include in my will.”

“Continue in this fashion, Mr. Potter, and you will ruin your reputation as the ‘Gryffindor Golden Boy,’” Snape said, turning back to the papers on his desk.

Harry narrowed his eyes and subtly lifted his wand. Moving slowly, Harry cast the spell he had made Remus teach him. Snape looked up with one of his usual glares, relieving Harry somewhat, when the spell hit him. Snape snorted when they both saw the spell confirm that Snape was who he seemed to be and was not, in fact, someone using Polyjuice to impersonate him.

Harry shrugged and put his wand away as Snape gave him a look. “Just checking.”

************************************

Harry followed after the Potions Master as he stormed down the sidewalk in Diagon Alley. Harry had been startled to see Snape turn back into the bastard he usually was as soon as they had left the privacy of Snape’s office at Hogwarts.

The change had driven home the difference in Snape’s behavior towards him since their truce began. Slowly, Snape had seemed less and less like a bastard to him. Harry had thought that it was because they weren’t constantly at each other’s throats any more, but now he realized it was actually a change in the way Snape treated him. In private, they actually got along quite well anymore.

Harry wondered if the Snape he had come to know was the Snape the Slytherins knew. It would explain a lot.

Harry swore under his breath as he quickly dodged a man that reminded him of his Uncle Vernon-big, beefy and loud. Harry was using his invisibility cloak to get to Gringotts unnoticed. Unfortunately, the problem with people not noticing him was that he had to make sure no one stepped on him or ran into him.

When he and Snape finally made it to the lobby of the bank, Harry followed Snape when the man walked to a shadowy corner of the lobby.

“Still with me, Mr. Potter?” Snape asked under his breath.

“Yes,” Harry whispered. “What now?”

“Now we wait.”

Harry frowned and started to ask what they were waiting for when a goblin came up to Snape and said, “Mr. Snape? This way.”

Harry followed as the goblin led Snape to a private room. When the three of them were inside the room and the door shut and warded, the goblin said, “Mr. Potter?”

Harry shrugged and removed the cloak. He and Snape sat down across the desk from the goblin.

“I am Thornspur. Mr. Snape said that you wished to have a will drawn up today, Mr. Potter?”

Harry took a deep breath. “Yes.”

“In preparation for this, I have a list of all of your assets here,” the goblin said. Harry noticed it was much more polite than the other goblins he had dealt with. Perhaps that was why he was chosen for this type of work. “Both the Potter and the Black estates, in their entirety, are yours. Also you have a private vault which you do not yet have access too, but which you will need to take into consideration when writing your will. There is-”

“Wait, what? I have a private vault that I don’t have access to?” Harry asked, confused.

“Yes.” The goblins shuffled papers for a minute before picking one up and reading it. “It was set up by your mother, Lily Potter. You gain access to the vault upon completion of your education at Hogwarts, barring a few exceptions.”

“Oh, so it’s like a graduation gift?” Harry asked with a frown. “What happens if I die before I gain access to the vault?”

“It will still be yours to bequeath as you will, which is why I listed it among your assets for this appointment,” Thornspur said.

“I see,” Harry said. He cleared his throat. “So, uh, where do I start?”

“Generally, when a wizard comes in to make a will we start with the items they feel to be of the most importance and any special instructions. Later, I will fit everything into the appropriate format and then go over everything with you,” Thornspur said. “Everything is, of course, completely confidential.”

Harry nodded. “Well, first thing then is if I die before April 16th, I want it clear that I want Draco Malfoy to be my daughter’s godfather and I want the ceremony to take place without any delays.”

Thornspur didn’t even blink at the news that Harry had a daughter. He merely began taking notes. “Your daughter’s name?”

“Violet Delphine Potter,” Harry said.

“In such a situation it is common for a witch or wizard to be chosen to enforce the clause of the will. Who would you like to empower to enforce your wishes?” Thornspur asked.

Harry frowned and thought for a moment. “Severus Snape.” Harry saw Snape raise an eyebrow at that. Harry shrugged. “You’re probably the only person I could trust to make sure my wishes are followed. You aren’t prejudiced against Slytherins so I know you won’t try to find a way around what I want. I suppose I could have named Remy, but it would be too easy for someone to use the prejudices against werewolves to have him considered inappropriate or something.” Harry shrugged. “Besides, you are stubborn enough that you won’t let anyone talk you out of following my wishes.”

“You first stipulation in your will,” Thornspur interrupted, “is that on April 16th Draco Malfoy be named godfather to your daughter, Violet Delphine Potter, in the traditional wizarding ceremony. Severus Snape, with the full backing of the law and Gringotts bank, will ensure that this is done.” He looked up at the two wizards sitting across from him and waited.

 _Well,_ Harry thought, _that’s a bit more like the goblins I know._ He pulled out his letter and the notes he had made on what he wanted to include in his will and he started to go through it with the goblin.

Harry left the Black estate to Remus. He couldn’t think of a more appropriate gift to leave his mentor and semi-surrogate father. He left small, appropriate gifts to his friends, such as some books to Hermione and his Quidditch gear, including his broom, to Ron. He left a small portion of what he discovered was a rather large fortune to the Weasley family. Everything else he left to Violet.

One of the last things Harry took care of was the letter he had written for Draco to be delivered in case Harry died and Voldemort won the war. After that, he had Thornspur notarize letters he wanted delivered to the Ministry and the newspapers if he died but his side won the war. These letters made it clear that Harry considered both Severus Snape and the Malfoy family spies for the light side and his allies; he also called for them to be recognized as war heroes.

Harry grinned at the brief glimpse he had of Snape’s reaction to the last two letters.

It was dark by the time Harry and Snape left the bank. Harry felt drained, but he was pleased with what he had accomplished for the day. As Harry followed Snape down the sidewalk, he asked, “Are you still going to visit Draco’s parents?”

“They are not expecting me for another hour. I had anticipated the appointment lasting for several hours,” Snape replied, glaring at the shadows as he walked, seemingly alone, back to the Leaky Cauldron.

“I hadn’t,” Harry said with a grimace. “I did tell Remus and Pansy that I didn’t know how long I would be gone, but I didn’t expect to be gone quite this long.”

***************************************

When Harry returned to the suite, he frowned. He could hear Pansy and Draco arguing in furious whispers. Harry couldn’t make out what they were saying, but it was definitely an argument. Harry followed the sound to Pansy’s open bedroom door. As soon as Harry came into view, the two Slytherins stopped arguing.

“I thought I’d take Vi for a while. Let you two talk freely for a bit,” Harry suggested with a shrug.

Pansy and Draco glared at each other for a moment before Pansy turned to Violet’s bed. “That would actually be great, Harry.” Pansy picked Violet up and handed her to Harry.

As soon as Harry had Vi in the living room, Pansy’s door shut behind him and he felt a silencing charm go up. He looked down at Violet, who was blinking sleepily up at him, and said, “I wonder if your mother is telling your godfather about us. Her and me, I mean.” Harry smiled at his daughter. “Draco already knows about you. And,” Harry looked to the closed bedroom door and dropped his voice to a whisper, “I think he’s already fallen in love with you too. But let’s not tell anyone, hmm? He’s a Malfoy.” Harry opened his eyes comically wide and then he smiled when his daughter responded with a gurgle.

Harry chuckled and sat down on the floor beside the coffee table. As draining as it had been to make his will, he was relieved it was done and Vi was protected. Harry smiled again and cuddled his little girl close. Just holding her melted away some of his stress.

Harry’s smiled turned into a frown when he caught sight of an envelope with his name on it lying on top of the book he had left out. Holding Vi with one hand, Harry picked the envelope up. It was Remus’ handwriting. Harry continued to frown as he struggled to open the letter while holding Vi. His frown deepened as he read the letter.

Dumbledore had sent Remus out on one last assignment. Since Remus couldn’t touch Vi until after the ceremony naming Draco her godfather, there wasn’t much he could do to help Pansy and Harry at the moment and he was an important member of the Order. He would be back in time for the ceremony.

Harry bit his lip to hold in the swear words on the tip of his tongue. Remus was right. Until the ceremony, there _wasn’t_ much he could do to help. Not that Harry and Pansy were having a hard time with Vi. Harry was used to hard work and interrupted sleep from living with his muggle relatives and from dealing with Voldemort. It was a little harder for Pansy, but she wanted to make the most of the time she had with her daughter and she looked at even the nighttime feedings and diaper changes as more time she could spend with her daughter. Switching off at night was also working out pretty well, keeping them from being too tired in the mornings. Harry was fairly sure they could handle taking care of Vi on their own.

No the problem was that tomorrow was Monday and the first day Pansy was supposed to go back to class. With Harry and Draco also needing to attend their classes, what were they going to do about Vi during the day? It would be noticed if they switched off and no one else could help or Remus wouldn’t have left.

Harry was sitting on the couch, holding Vi and trying to think of a solution when the portrait entrance to the suite opened and a sobbing redhead ran into the room. Harry stood, alarmed at the sight of Ginny’s distraught face. “Ginny? What’s wrong?”

Ginny threw herself into Harry’s arms, being careful of Vi. “Oh, Harry!” she wailed.

Harry shushed both Ginny and Vi, who started wailing herself when she heard Ginny. He pulled Ginny down to sit beside him on the sofa, wrapping the arm not holding Vi around the redhead’s shoulders.

“Gin, what’s wrong? What’s happened?” Harry asked softly.

Ginny took deep breaths and slowed her tears. She looked at Vi and then gave Harry an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, Harry,” she said quietly.

Harry shook his head and rubbed her shoulder. “Just tell me what’s wrong.”

Ginny sobbed once, before covering her mouth and taking another deep breath. “Luna broke up with me.” The words came out muffled as she still had her hand held against her lips.

“What? Why?” Harry asked.

“She heard about me disappearing yesterday with you for hours and when I couldn’t tell her what we were doing, she thought I was getting back together with you. You were right, Harry. I should have told my family sooner. Luna thinks I’m a-ashamed of her!” Ginny broke down in tears again, though she pressed her face to Harry’s shoulder to muffle her sobs.

Harry rubbed her shoulder soothingly and murmured nonsense words, waiting for Ginny to calm down a bit. Finally, she sat up a bit and wiped her eyes. “Ginny, let me talk to Luna. I can explain some things to her. I’m sure she’ll understand.”

Ginny looked at him pleadingly. “Would you, Harry?”

“Of course.”

Ginny laid her head on Harry’s shoulder. “She wasn’t even angry or anything, Harry. She was hurt and sad and…” Ginny broke off and started crying silently.

Harry just held her and let her cry. When she finally stopped, Harry looked down to see that she had fallen asleep. He looked down at Vi and saw she was asleep too. He smiled and settled more comfortably on the sofa, letting his mind drift. He thought of what to tell Luna and how to help fix things between her and Ginny.

Harry had no idea how long he had been sitting there holding two sleeping girls when the door to Pansy’s room opened and Draco came out into the living room. He saw the blond freeze at the sight of him holding Ginny.

When Draco glared at him, Harry said, “The person Ginny was seeing broke up with her. Apparently, rumors started that Ginny and I were getting back together and when she came to the wedding people thought the two of us had gone off somewhere to ‘make-up.’ Since Ginny promised not to tell anyone about the wedding she couldn’t say where she had really been and since I was the only one who knew she was seeing…who she was seeing, she came to talk to me.”

Draco pushed down the turbulent emotions that had welled up within him at the sight of Harry holding Vi in one arm and _Ginny Weasley_ in the other. Draco told himself he had no right to feel anything but anger on his best friend’s behalf. He was furious with himself when he couldn’t stop himself from asking, “Do you still love her?”

Harry looked up at Draco in surprise at the quiet question. It had almost been a demand. Harry rubbed Ginny shoulder and answered honestly. “Yes.” Seeing Draco tense up, Harry shook his head and continued, “But I’m not _in_ love with her. I never was, even when we were dating.”

Draco frowned. He shouldn’t ask, but again he couldn’t stop himself. “Then why did you date her for so long?”

Harry sighed. It was weird how easy it was to talk to Draco about this. Maybe it was the stressful day he had had or maybe it was the way Draco had stopped with the sneers and insults (mostly) after finding out about Vi. “Because it was expected of us. Everyone just assumed we would get together. Even now, a lot of people think we are going to get back together, get married, have kids and be together forever.” Harry grimaced. “Especially her family.”

Draco knew plenty about family expectations. His parents didn’t even know he was gay. For as long as Draco could remember, he had known he was expected to marry Pansy. He never felt he had a choice in the matter and saw no reason to tell his family of his preference. It’s not like it would have changed anything.

“You don’t love Pansy either.” It was a statement, not a question. “She told me you only married her because you got her pregnant.”

Harry winced. “Is that what you two were arguing about earlier?”

Draco shot a glare at Pansy’s bedroom door. “She knew she could have come to me.”

“Not without putting you at risk,” Harry said. Draco turned his glare on Harry. Harry shrugged. “She cares about you.”

The conversation was ended when Ginny started snuggling up to Harry. Harry sighed. “I can’t let her return to Gryffindor Tower alone like this. Is Pansy…?”

“Asleep,” Draco said. He face was emotionless as he said, “Madam Pomfrey said she could expect to have periods of lethargy and need a lot of rest.”

Harry nodded. “Do you think you could watch Vi for me for a while? I want to take Ginny back to the Tower and then I need to talk to someone.”

Harry stood when Draco nodded. Harry managed to stand without waking Ginny and he crossed the room to Draco.

Draco tried to ignore the way his heart beat faster at Harry’s nearness. As Harry leaned in to put Violet into his arms, Draco caught Harry’s scent. It was a natural woodsy smell that on anyone else, Draco would have sworn was cologne. But Draco knew Harry didn’t wear cologne, not even to the Yule Ball in forth year. It was a scent Draco had only caught a few times over the years and now, just as it had every time before, it caused Draco’s body to react.

The feel of Harry’s arm brushing against his chest, of Harry’s hand unintentionally caressing down his stomach almost caused Draco to groan. It was only the feel of Violet in his arms, reminding him of Pansy that stopped Draco from doing something stupid. Without the shield of insults and arrogance to protect himself with, Draco knew he was in danger of Harry finding out about how Draco felt about him.

Draco took a deep breath to steady himself and was nearly overwhelmed by Harry’s scent. He wanted to step back, away from temptation, but Harry was running his hand over Violet’s dark hair, looking at his daughter with that look on his face that made Draco’s heart ache.

Harry took a brief moment to marvel again over the fact that he had a daughter, that Violet was in his life, before he let his hand drop. He gave Draco a small smile and then turned to wake Ginny. Harry nearly had his nose broken when Ginny swung her arm out in an unconscious attempt to get Harry to leave her alone and let her sleep. Rolling his eyes, Harry finally managed to wake his ex-girlfriend.

“Ginny!” Harry said in exasperation.

Ginny blinked up at Harry, looked around the room in confusion and then turned a sheepish, apologetic smile to Harry. “Sorry.”

“Come on, let’s get you back to Gryffindor Tower,” Harry said.

*************************************

After dropping Ginny off at the Tower and then hunting down and talking to Luna, Harry headed back to the suite.

Walking down the empty corridor, Harry thought over his conversation with the Ravenclaw girl. He had never seen Luna so… _focused_ before. There was still a slightly dreamy quality to her gaze and voice, but for once she seemed more in the real world (for lack of a better description) than in that world only she could see. Harry had thought long and hard about what to tell Luna when he found her. He had no doubt that she could keep a secret or three, but he really didn’t want to go around telling _everyone_ about Pansy and Violet.

In the end, he decided to give her the same version of events that he had given to Ginny. He also went on to tell Luna about the pressure Ginny’s family was putting on them both to get back together and live out the fairy tale ending everyone imagined for them before given a brief summary of the conversation he had had with the distraught redhead.

Harry shook his head and let out a little laugh, remembering the glint of determination he had seen in Luna’s eyes before she wandered off to ‘reclaim her oawirth.’ Harry had no idea what an ‘oawirth’ was, but he guessed it was some kind of endearment for Ginny.

Harry shook his head again as he stepped into the suite after giving the password. The slight smile he had been wearing slipped right off his face and he stopped abruptly as he caught sight of the sofa.

Draco Malfoy was lying on the sofa, rumpled and fast asleep, with Harry’s sleeping little girl lying on his chest. Harry’s breath caught at the sight of Draco’s messy hair, his missing outer robes and his bare feet. Harry stared for a moment as he took in the fact that Draco wasn’t even wearing socks then he jerked his eyes up to Draco’s face. The blond’s face was so relaxed in sleep. And the way he held little Vi against his chest…!

Harry stared for a long time, not really any thoughts in his head, just the feeling of almost awe at the beauty of the sight before him. Harry suddenly flushed with embarrassment at being caught staring as Draco’s eyes fluttered open and a slight frown came to the blond’s face.

“Potter?” Draco asked in a sleep roughened voice.

Harry suppressed a shiver at the sound and force his feet to move him closer. “Sorry, I guess I was gone longer than I had thought.”

Draco gave a little shrug and then sat up. He held Vi with one arm and reached up to run a hand through his hair. He suddenly glared at Harry as he realized the state he was in. Harry ignored the glare and settled down onto the sofa beside him.

Harry ran a hand over Vi’s hair, just as he had before he had left, and said, “Do you think Pansy would mind missing a couple more weeks of class?”

Draco frowned. “Why?”

“Well, until the ceremony naming you Vi’s godfather, no one else can touch her. However, all three of us have class. We can’t switch off. Someone would notice. I thought Pansy had the best excuse to miss class. You could bring her her classwork and you and I could watch Vi after classes and during the weekends to give Pansy a chance to rest.” Harry shrugged. It was the only thing he could think of to solve the dilemma.

Draco adjusted Vi and frowned as he thought over Harry’s plan. After a few moments he nodded. “Actually, I think that would be best. It would give Pansy a little more time to rest before having to face everyone again.”

Harry nodded and silence settled over them. They sat next to each other on the sofa, neither really noticing just how close they were sitting to each other, and watched Vi sleep. After a while, Draco reluctantly handed the little girl to Harry and headed for the dungeons. Harry settled Vi in her bed in his room before heading to sleep himself.


	6. Settling In

            Harry shifted Vi, taking care to keep the bottle in her mouth and reached out to turn a page in the textbook on the coffee table. Hearing another frustrated sigh come from across the table, Harry looked up just in time to see Draco run a hand through his hair and glare at the book in front of him.

            “Something wrong?” Harry asked.

            “No,” Draco said shortly.

            Harry shrugged and turned back to his textbook. Several minutes passed, silent except for Draco’s sighs. Violet fell asleep and Harry carefully stood and put her in her bassinet set to one side of the living room. When he returned to the coffee table, he sat beside Draco rather than across from him.

            Without asking, Harry pulled Draco’s book towards him. He’d noticed Draco was working on the assignment for DADA and since Harry had finished that assignment already he may as well help. He ignored Draco’s glare and said, “This one’s easier to figure out if you look at the chart in the next chapter.”

            Two hours later, Pansy was surprised to wake from her nap and walk into the living room and see Harry and Draco sitting next to each other with their heads together. After watching for a minute, Pansy grabbed her books from her room, wrote a quick note and snuck past them, checking on Vi on her way out. Both Harry and Draco were so focused on their discussion they never noticed her leave.

            Pansy headed straight for the library to work on an essay for Transfiguration. She didn’t really care about her grades, it’s not like she was going to graduate in any case, but she was tired of being cooped up. As much as she loved her daughter and Draco and as nice as Harry had been, she was feeling confined and could use sometime to wander around freely.

            After a good hour’s work in the library, Pansy was joined by a couple other Slytherin girls. They talked and worked on their essays together though Pansy was careful to avoid any discussion about her illness. A couple of hours passed and Pansy began to feel tired again. It took her ten minutes to get away without having to invite the other girls back to her private room and her feet dragged as she walked down the hall.

            By the time she reached the suite all she wanted was to lay down in bed. But when she walked in she stopped and stared.

            “Vi, tell your Uncle Draco your daddy knows what he’s doing,” Harry said, smiling down at his little girl while trying to change her diaper. Her wiggling was making it difficult for him and Draco was trying to distract her with a toy.

            “Obviously not, Potter, or you would have been done by now,” Draco said sarcastically.

            “You wanna do this, Draco? And I’ve told you to stop calling me by my last name. Especially in front of Violet. Tell your Uncle Draco to stop being so mean,” Harry said. He smiled again when Vi gurgled and waved her arms. “See Draco, Vi said you should stop being so mean.”

            “More likely she was telling you to hurry up, _Harry_.” Even so, Draco’s eyes softened when he looked down at the little girl. There was also a warmth in his eyes that anyone but Pansy would have missed. Her best friend was falling completely in love with her little girl.

            Pansy smiled and blinked back tears. She covered her mouth and muffled her teary laugh as Harry and Draco continued to trade quips while trying to change Violet’s diaper.

**************************************       

            The next week was more of the same. Pansy watched Violet while Draco and Harry had class and took a nap when they arrived after their classes. After her nap she usually went to the library to work on homework and sometimes talk with the other Slytherin girls while Harry and Draco watched Vi. She usually returned to find Harry and Draco working on homework together or playing with Vi.

            There was still some tension between them, but more and more Pansy saw the looks Draco was giving Harry. Soon she was certain the tension, on Draco’s part at least, was not just a continuation of the rivalry Harry had insisted on setting aside.

            She also started thinking about just how good the two looked together when they were with Violet. As much as Pansy was going to miss her little girl, she felt a weight lift when she saw how well Harry and Draco worked together to take care of Vi. She could tell Harry would not let anyone keep Draco from her daughter’s life and she knew Harry would do anything for Violet.

**************************************

            Four days before the ceremony naming Draco Violet’s godfather, Harry was cornered by Ron and Hermione. He was on his way to dinner in the Great Hall after he noticed his absence was being commented on by his fellow Gryffindors when Ron and Hermione dragged him off to one side of the hallway to talk.

            “Harry! Are you even trying to make things better with Ginny?” Ron demanded.

            “Ron, what are you talking about?” Harry asked, glaring at his friends. They hadn’t spoken to him since he had tried to invite them to his wedding. Admittedly, he hadn’t been around much and they didn’t know where his suite was, but he’d been in classes with them.

            “Harry, we saw Ginny in tears after she talked with you! And after that she hasn’t been in the common room unless she’s going to her dorm room to go to sleep! We are getting worried about her and I think since you are the one who upset her you should try to-” Hermione said.

            “Actually,” Harry said angrily, “I have talked to Ginny and we are just fine! She forgave me and-”

            “For cheating on her?” Hermione said skeptically. “Harry, girls don’t-”

            “What’s going on, Harry?”

            Harry, Ron and Hermione turned to see Ginny standing next to them with her hands on her hips, frowning.

            “Ron and Hermione seem to think you are still angry with me and upset over me cheating on you and they think I should be trying harder to make things better,” Harry said while glaring at his friends.

            Ginny’s eyes widened. “Honestly! What is wrong with you two! And if I were still angry with Harry I hardly would have gone to his wedding and been his best woman!”

            “What?” Ron asked, turning to Harry.

            “You got married without us, Harry?” Hermione asked, looking both angry and hurt.

            Harry glared and shrugged. “I tried to tell you, but you both refused to listen to anything I had to say. You were too busy giving me the cold shoulder to come to my wedding so I had it without you.”

            They seemed to have nothing to say to that. After a short pause, Hermione turned to Ginny. “But how could you have forgiven him enough to be his best woman when he was marrying the girl he cheated on you with?”

            Ginny sighed. “Hermione, I was cheating on Harry the entire time we were together. And Harry found out about it and never said anything. I could hardly be upset with him.”

            Hermione and Ron’s eyes went wide and Ron’s mouth opened and closed, making him look like a fish. “You cheated on Harry? Why?” Ron asked, bewildered. “You’ve been in love with him for forever!”

            Ginny shook her head angrily. “Yes, Ron, I had a crush on him when I was younger, but I was never really in love with him. I mean, yes, I’ve come to love him, but not like a boyfriend. I think of him like a brother. And I really wish everyone would stop trying to force us to be together! We aren’t interested in each other, we never will be and I’m sick of people pushing us together! It’s not going to happen!”

            “But Ginny, I saw you crying and-” Hermione said, frowning.

            “Yes, I was crying, Hermione. Because the person I cheated on Harry with, the person I am completely head over heels in love with thought I was ashamed of us and thought I was getting back together with Harry and broke up with me! It was only Harry talking to-it was only because Harry helped explained the situation that things are starting to work out between us.” Ginny glared at Hermione during her little rant.

            Harry frowned. “I thought you two were going to tell people now, Ginny?”

            Ginny blushed. “You’re right, Harry. It’s just habit by now I guess.”

            “So who are you seeing then?” Ron demanded.

            Ginny tossed her hair and looked Ron right in the face. “Luna.”

            “Luna Lovegood?” Hermione gasped. “But Ginny, she’s-”

            “She’s what, Hermione?” Ginny asked, her eyes narrowing.

            “Since when do you like girls?” Ron interrupted, confused.

            “What does it matter?” Ginny said with another toss of her hair. “Come on, Harry! It’s been too long since we’ve sat down and talked. You can sit with me at dinner.”

            Harry sat between Ginny and Neville at dinner. Ron and Hermione sat across from him, but said nothing to him during the meal. Ginny kept up a steady stream of chatter, going out of her way to try to make Harry laugh. Harry managed to relax, even with Ron and Hermione’s silent presence sitting across from him.

            On the way back to his suite after dinner, Harry turned when he heard his name called. He was surprised to see Snape walk out of the shadows. At a gesture from the man, Harry turned and walked with him.

            “You have been neglecting your training,” Snape said as the walked. “Understandable given the circumstances. However, I would suggest after the ceremony you make arrangements so that we may resume.”

            Harry frowned slightly and nodded. “You’re right. It’s just right now…”

            Snape nodded when Harry trailed off. “Also, I spoke with Lucius. We discussed the arrangements for the ceremony. He wants to speak with you after the ceremony before he makes a decision on the matter you asked me to speak with him about.”

            Harry nodded slowly. He couldn’t imagine what Lucius Malfoy wanted to discuss with him, but he would talk with the man. Harry only hoped he could get him to agree to switch sides.

**************************************

            Draco was sitting on the sofa holding Violet when Harry came in and sat beside him. Harry leaned close to look at Vi, pressing up against Draco in the process. Draco took a slow deep breath as he tried to ignore the feel of Harry pressed against him.

            In the two and a half weeks since Violet was born, Harry had been surprisingly quick to throw away years of hostility. And it was more than just for Pansy and Violet’s sake. He wasn’t reluctant or resentful. It was as if he simply shrugged his shoulders and set aside the past.

            In some ways, Draco resented it. He hated the implication that what had been between him and Harry was so easy to set aside, to forget. On the other hand, he loved the easy way Harry acted around him now. And some small, stupid part of him loved the implication that Harry was choosing him over _Weasley_ finally. Not only to be his daughter’s godfather, something that still stunned Draco, but Harry was also spending most of his free time with Draco.

            That may have something to do with the fact that Draco was often in his suite and with his daughter, but even when Vi was sleeping Harry didn’t hurry him from the suite. He didn’t seem to mind that Draco was almost always around. And he never hesitated to press close or come up to Draco.

            Draco turned an annoyed glare on Harry. Harry also never seemed to notice when he was so close to Draco, much less the effect he had on him. He definitely gave no indication that he felt anything himself.

            Draco gave a silent sigh and let go of his annoyance. How could he remain angry when Harry was stroking Violet’s hair and looking at her with that light in his eyes that always made Draco’s heart ache. It was filled with such love and that touch of awe…a familiar need blossomed in Draco’s chest. He wanted Harry to look at him with even a fraction of the warmth in his eyes when he looked at Vi.

            “Is Pansy still sleeping?” Harry asked, looking up at Draco.

            “No, she’s in the library. She said she slept quite well last night so she took a shorter nap than usual.”

            Harry nodded. “When she brought Vi to me last night the first time she woke I noticed Pansy was exhausted. I figure since she gets to spend all day with Vi that she wouldn’t mind if I kept her in my room all night. Pansy could use the sleep and I could spend a little more time with Vi.”

            Looking more closely, Draco could see that Harry did look a little tired. Suddenly, Harry yawned and then he gave Draco a sheepish smile. “If you’d like to take a nap I can watch Violet for a while,” Draco offered.

            Even before Draco finished Harry was shaking his head. “I’ll be fine. Besides I have to read the chapter for Charms.” He pulled out his textbook and set it in his lap. Instead of opening the book, Harry looked back down at Violet and stroked her hair. “Your parents will be here in a few days for the ceremony. I’m still not sure where we should have the ceremony. The dungeons are too cold and damp. Even with magic, I don’t want to risk Violet getting sick. Same problem with having the ceremony outside since the ceremony takes place at dawn. And obviously it will have to take place somewhere no one will notice or accidentally stumble upon…” Harry trailed off as he yawned again.

            Draco frowned and he unconsciously stroked a finger down Violet’s cheek as he considered the problem. It was the only issue left to be resolved for the ceremony to take place. Since the Headmaster knew of the situation, Draco supposed they could ask him, but Draco hated the thought of letting the old man in on the plans for such an important event. The suite Harry and Pansy were sharing was too small for the ceremony.

            “Hmm, what about-” Draco broke off and looked over at Harry. Harry had fallen asleep while Draco had been distracted. Even as Draco watched Harry slowly slid sideways until his head landed on Draco’s shoulder. Draco was certain his heart stopped and he held his breath. Harry shoved his book off his lap and it fell to the floor with a muted thump. Harry rubbed his cheek against Draco’s shoulder and gave a soft sigh of contentment.

            Draco just sat there and stared at Harry for a long time. A soft gurgle from the child in his arms finally drew his attention away from the Gryffindor pressed up against him. “Well,” he said softly to Violet, “at least your father doesn’t snore.” Draco settled himself more comfortably, slipping some pillows under Violet to support her weight so that his arm wouldn’t get tired.

            Soon Draco was blinking sleepily, lulled by Harry’s deep even breathing. Slowly, his eyes slid closed and he drifted off as well.

            That was the scene Pansy walked in on an hour later when she returned from the library. She stopped short, staring at her best friend and Harry asleep on the sofa. Seeing Violet’s hand wave and hearing soft sounds telling her her daughter was awake, Pansy moved closer. She smiled and sniffled as she saw Vi staring up at the two sleeping men seemingly fascinated by the sight.

            Pansy started to reach for Vi when she had a sudden thought. She quickly and quietly went to her room and searched through her things. Soon she found what she was looking for and she returned to the living room. Seeing that no one had moved while she searched her room, Pansy quickly raised the camera and took a few pictures. She was glad the wizard camera didn’t require a flash as she’d seen on a muggle camera she saw once.

            Satisfied, Pansy sat the camera on the coffee table and then leaned down and picked up Vi. Draco frowned and moved his arm as if searching for the little girl in his sleep, but a few soft words from Pansy seemed to settle him. Pansy smiled and took Violet to her room and laid the little girl on her bed. After a quick diaper change and a bottle, she settled Vi down in the bassinet in her room.

            It was almost a half hour later when Pansy returned to the living room to get her camera. Once more she was struck by the scene she discovered. In her and Vi’s absence, the two men had somehow managed to stretch out on the sofa together.

            Draco and Harry were a tangle of arms and legs and it looked like Harry was lying half on top of Draco with his face pressed against Draco’s neck. Draco had his arms wrapped around Harry and it looked like he was not going to let go of Harry for anything.

            Without looking away from them, Pansy picked her camera up off the coffee table and snapped picture after picture. She paused for a moment as the moved, but they only settled more comfortably together-which involved what looked suspiciously like a great deal of snuggling. She snapped several more pictures before smiling and leaving them like that.

*************************************

            Draco woke feeling warm and more comfortable than he could ever remember being. He smiled. He must have been dreaming of Harry again. Draco could swear he could smell Harry. He took a deep breath, drawing in that woodsy scent. His eyes flew open when he felt something tickling his nose.

            Draco’s breath rushed out of him and he froze, trying not to move a single muscle as he looked at the top of Harry’s head. When Harry sighed and pushed closer to Draco, Draco thought his heart would beat out of his chest, but Harry only sighed again and stopped moving. After several long moments, Draco closed his eyes and breathed a soft sigh of relief when it seemed Harry was not going to wake.

            He had no idea how they had ended up like this, but he needed to get away before Harry woke. Moving slowly, Draco eased away from Harry, torn between freaking out over the situation and regretting that he could not stay and just enjoy  the feel of Harry sleeping in his arms.

            Draco was almost free when suddenly he lost his balance and fell to the floor. He froze, but Harry didn’t react. When Draco stood he felt another wave of panic wash over him and he frantically looked around the room for Violet. Seeing one of Pansy’s books, Draco rushed to Pansy’s room hoping she’d come back and had Vi.

            Opening the door to Pansy’s room, Draco leaned against the door frame, shaky with relief. Pansy and Violet were both in their beds sound asleep. Draco ran a hand over his face and decided he needed to get back to the Slytherin dorms before he lost his mind. _Or did something incredibly stupid_ , he thought looking over his shoulder at Harry.


End file.
